[SMM Analysis] POSCO and Hancock Sign 30,000 mt Lithium Business Cooperation Agreement

According to POSCO NEWSROOM, on December 9, POSCO and Australian mining company Hancock signed a business agreement related to lithium business cooperation, jointly promoting the establishment of a lithium production plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 mt. The two companies are currently selecting a site for the plant.

POSCO and Australian mining company Hancock Prospecting are collaborating to strengthen the supply chain of raw materials for secondary batteries. The signing ceremony was held via video link between South Korea and Australia, attended by senior executives from both companies, including POSCO Vice President Jun-hyung Kim and Hancock CEO Garry Korte.

Through this business agreement, POSCO and Hancock will promote a lithium business with an annual capacity of 30,000 mt. The two companies plan to jointly review the best candidate locations for establishing the lithium plant, including in South Korea, and will clarify details such as investment amounts later.

Through this cooperation, POSCO Holdings will be able to combine Hancock's various mining assets to ensure a stable supply chain of lithium raw materials not subject to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), further strengthening the group's lithium value chain from lithium mines and salt lakes to lithium hydroxide, cathode active materials, and recycling.

Jun-hyung Kim stated, "POSCO Holdings has built trust through a long-term partnership with Hancock. In this lithium business cooperation, we will also re-examine the best business structure and achieve good results."

Hancock is a mining company headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, with its main source of income being iron ore, and is diversifying into lithium, natural gas, and rare earth elements. Previously, POSCO and Hancock have cooperated multiple times. First, in 2010, POSCO held a 12.5% stake in Hancock's Roy Hill iron ore mine; second, at the end of 2021 and early 2022, they jointly acquired Australian natural gas company Senex Energy, with POSCO's subsidiary holding 50.1% of Senex's shares and Hancock holding the remaining 49.9%. Additionally, in March 2022, POSCO and Hancock signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) to investigate the commercial feasibility of an HBI (Hot Briquetted Iron) production project in Perth, Australia. Through the signing of the agreement, the two companies plan to conduct detailed feasibility studies in areas such as establishing an HBI plant, developing Australian iron ore, and investing in hydrogen production pilot facilities. This cooperation will expand the scope beyond iron ore and natural gas production.

POSCO is actively securing high-quality lithium resources such as mines and salt lakes in the short-term secondary battery market, expanding its resource supply chain and business capabilities to capture the lithium market when it recovers. It has obtained a total annual lithium capacity of 68,000 mt, sufficient to produce approximately 1.6 million EVs, and is expected to complete lithium brine (25,000 mt per year) and lithium ore (43,000 mt per year) plants in Argentina in 2024.