Ganfeng Lithium to acquires 8.58% Stake in An Argentine Mining Company

SHANGHAI, Oct 21 (SMM) - Ganfeng Lithium (002460) announced that it intends to acquire 8.58% equity interest in Litio from International Lithium Corp. ("International Lithium") to through its wholly-owned subsidy Ganfeng Lithium Netherlands CO., B.V. (“Ganfeng Lithium Netherlands”).

The total amount of the transaction is approximately US$13.178 million, with Ganfeng Lithium contributing US$10 million and the remainder being the proceeds from the waiver of past development loans and interest from Ganfeng International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, to International Lithium. Upon the completion of this transaction, Ganfeng Lithium indirectly holds 100% of Litio and its Mariana Lithium Salt Lake Project.

It is reported that Litio, whose main business is mineral exploration and investment, has a 100% interest in the Mariana lithium salt lake project located in Salta Province, Argentina. The Mariana Project currently holds 18 mining and exploration licences in Salta Province, Argentina, covering a total area of 32,436 hectares, with the main product being lithium compounds produced from lithium-bearing brines.

The Mariana Project currently has a planned capacity of 20,000 mt per annum of lithium chloride in Phase I. The capacity of the project is still under construction. The Mariana Project is currently estimated to have a combined proven and inferred resource of 8.12 million mt of LCE, valued at approximately $1.222 million.

According to SMM recent research, the lithium iron manufacturers have increased their inquiries for lithium carbonate. On the fundamentals, the market supply will tighten in November-December amid the released demand for lithium iron phosphate & the fall in supply in winter in Qinghai. And the lithium carbonate prices will continue to move up.