[SMM News] Vulcan Energy Secures Second Production Licence for Lionheart Project in Germany

On September 14th, 2026, London-listed Premier African Minerals agreed with Canmax Technologies to extend the long stop date under their restated offtake and prepayment agreement for the Zulu lithium and tantalum project in Zimbabwe, originally signed in August 2023, to December 31. Premier, Zulu Lithium Private, and Canmax also signed a tripartite priority and subordination agreement, giving Canmax contractual priority over amounts owed by Zulu Lithium to Premier and other Premier group members. Other terms remain unchanged. Amounts owed to Canmax, including outstanding prepayment and accrued interest, rank as senior indebtedness about $48.73-million as at September 10. Amounts owed by Zulu Lithium to Premier, including loans, advances, and intercompany balances, rank as subordinated indebtedness about $55.75-million. Premier MD Graham Hill said the extension provides time and certainty to progress Zulu and reach a long-term resolution with Canmax, while the subordination agreement clarifies creditor positions and preserves Premier's claims against Zulu Lithium.

TSX-V-listed Frontier Lithium has appointed DRA Americas to conduct an updated feasibility study on its PAK lithium project in Ontario, Canada. The study will incorporate work completed since the 2025 feasibility study, including value engineering results, with a focus on optimising project economics and derisking execution. Publication is expected in Q1 2027. Frontier Lithium continues to advance permitting and consultation for PAK under Ontario's One Project, One Process framework, alongside Indigenous engagement, environmental studies, and infrastructure initiatives. CEO Trevor Walker said the update aims to capture progress made to date and position the project's "Mine and Mill" stage for its next phase, citing PAK's high grade lithium resource, Ontario location, and rising North American demand for secure domestic critical mineral supply. The move reflects a broader push by North American jurisdictions to build domestic lithium supply chains as automakers and battery makers look beyond China-linked sources, with the updated study marking a standard step toward a final investment decision.

Lohum Cleantech has dispatched its first lithium ore shipment from Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South Province, starting production at the Indian company's first overseas mine and marking, by its own account, the first such extraction by an Indian producer abroad. Lohum holds 10 spodumene blocks across roughly 1,100 hectares, estimated to contain 30-40 million tonnes of ore and yield about 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent over the mine's life. At current prices, the company values the in-situ resource at roughly US$7 billion, though it notes this is not a project valuation or return forecast. Ore will be processed initially in Zimbabwe, then refined into lithium carbonate in India. Lohum plans local processing capacity ahead of Zimbabwe's January 2027 concentrate export ban, and holds preferred rights over up to 90 adjacent blocks. The entry adds new supply to Zimbabwe's spodumene base, already a key feedstock source amid steady global battery-demand growth. Lohum's upstream move mirrors a broader trend of overseas refiners securing African feedstock, while Zimbabwe's 2027 export ban will steer more of this supply toward in-country beneficiation rather than raw concentrate exports. Lohum operates across primary production, battery recycling, refining, and advanced materials. In 2022 it signed a US$200 million deal to supply Glencore with 10,000 tonnes of recycled battery specialty chemicals over five years.