【SMM Flash】Чистая прибыль Defo Technology за первое полугодие выросла на 581%, отгрузки высокодобавленной медной фольги для литиевых аккумуляторов увеличились

SMM, August 21: US-based critical minerals refiner Nth Cycle has been selected by the US Department of Energy to enter award negotiations for up to $100 million in funding to build a commercial-scale black mass refining facility, Project Shield, in the southeastern US one of the first of its kind domestically. The facility will refine up to 24,000 t/y of domestic black mass, the material recovered from shredded spent lithium-ion batteries, into high-purity nickel MHP and battery-grade lithium carbonate using Nth Cycle's proprietary OYSTER electroextraction system. The award addresses a structural gap in US recycling capacity: following the US Department of Commerce's recent one-year export ban on black mass, insufficient domestic refining has left China dominant in its processing. Nth Cycle already holds a ten-year offtake term sheet with Trafigura for 2,000 t of contained nickel and 1,500 t of lithium carbonate, adding to its existing Ohio operations. Project Shield is targeted for 2029, aided by a modular build model roughly 70% less capital-intensive than traditional refineries. SMM View: DOE backing for Nth Cycle reflects growing US urgency to build domestic lithium and nickel recycling capacity independent of Chinese midstream processing, with the black mass export ban tightening feedstock supply at home and locked-in offtake demand strengthening the case for battery recycling as a key pillar of western raw material security.

SMM, August 21: Zimbabwe's Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development, led by Chairman Hon. Remigious Matangira, has endorsed Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe's (PLZ) Arcadia project as a beneficiation benchmark following a fact-finding visit to the Goromonzi site, citing the company's proactive investment in local processing ahead of regulatory enforcement. PLZ and subsidiary Arcadia Technology Zimbabwe have invested approximately $400 million in processing infrastructure and paid over $100 million in taxes and royalties to date. Its lithium sulphate plant, commissioned December 2025, is running stably, while a lithium carbonate plant under construction is set to begin rough output this month. The company reports a 90% metal recovery rate and 96% wastewater recycling rate, and has directed over $3 million toward community development, including founding the Triangle Zimbabwe College of Engineering and Technology. During the visit, PLZ Commercial Manager Leo Huizenga presented a package of fiscal reform proposals aimed at improving downstream refining competitiveness. The centerpiece is a graduated royalty system that would replace Zimbabwe's flat 7% rate with a tiered structure scaled to processing stage: 7% on raw ore/concentrates, 5% on lithium sulphate, and 3% on battery-grade chemical salts, rewarding beneficiation over raw ore export. PLZ also flagged a currency mismatch straining liquidity, with 30% of its revenue earned in ZiG against 84% of tax liabilities due in foreign currency, and is urging the government to accept a greater share of tax payments in ZiG. Separately, the company called for its 10% export tax and 3% export levy to be treated as tax-deductible expenses, arguing that current non-deductibility pushes the effective burden to approximately 16.25% under Zimbabwe's 25% corporate tax rate, amounting to double taxation. SMM View: Parliamentary endorsement of PLZ's Arcadia operation lends policy momentum to the company's fiscal reform push, positioning it as a reference case for how Zimbabwe may calibrate royalty and export-tax policy across its lithium sector. With processing capacity, community investment, and now legislative backing aligned, the outcome of PLZ's proposals particularly the graduated royalty system could set a precedent shaping how other Zimbabwean lithium producers structure future downstream investment decisions.

On August 2st, Sydney-listed Elevra Lithium has secured a price-floor supply agreement to deliver spodumene concentrate from its Québec project to Mangrove Lithium's planned conversion facility in Canada, as North American players move to build out domestic lithium processing capacity. Under the agreement, Elevra will supply 100% of the feedstock required for Mangrove's 20,000 tonne-per-year lithium carbonate-equivalent conversion plant. The deal includes a price floor set above Elevra's expected production cost, with no ceiling on the upside, though the contract value was not disclosed. The Mangrove facility remains subject to a final investment decision, with additional funding support expected from Export Development Canada and the Canada Growth Fund, according to Mangrove Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer Annie Liu. Liu noted that floor-price offtake structures are becoming increasingly standard across the hard-rock lithium supply chain, citing long asset development lead times and sustained demand for spodumene feedstock. A similar structure was adopted in February when Australia's PLS Group signed a floor-priced spodumene concentrate offtake agreement with a Chinese converter. SMM View: The Elevra-Mangrove agreement reflects growing use of price-floor mechanisms to underpin new spodumene supply contracts, providing upstream producers with cost-cover certainty against continued lithium price volatility while securing dedicated feedstock for new North American conversion capacity. As more western processing projects reach final investment decision, similar floor-price offtake structures may become a standard feature of non-China-aligned spodumene supply chains, with implications for how feedstock is contracted and priced globally.