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Here’s a name that lithium traders will remember – or, two of them even. Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) has inked a deal with South Korean heavyweight LG Energy Solutions to supply the latter with lithium carbonate from its Paradox Basin project, 50km away from its other major asset, the Green River project. If it isn’t already obvious, LGES works in the lithium-ion battery space for the EV market.
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Notably, the deal is a five-year contract which doesn’t start until 2028; the same year Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI) was at one point slating for a lithium market recovery.
That remains to be seen, but some brief fluctuations in lithium have revived sentiment for the now-lacklustre battery metal in recent history, especially when CATL briefly shut down production from a major Chinese mine.
(Then, earlier this month, when production recommenced, it helped tank all the last-left lithium majors, pushing Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) down more than -15%.)
At any rate, under the deal, Anson is to ship off 4000tpa of lithium carbonate to LGES, some 40% of production capacity for Paradox. LGES was preferred by Anson given the former’s existing warehouse and factory base in the U.S.; in a sign of the times, the company also highlighted LGES’s strong investments in North America.
In Anson’s words, it’s on the back of a Trumpian push for U.S. manufacturing at any cost that has led to this deal. “This shift in manufacturing investment has led to an increased demand for lithium produced in the U.S.,” Anson CEO Bruce Richardson said.
“[That’s] not only to shorten supply chains geographically but also to increase U.S. content of electric vehicle batteries and electric vehicles.
“Anson identified this change, targeted its offtake marketing activities to the companies that have made these investments into North America and in particular, the U.S., where Anson development work in the Paradox Basin in Southern Utah is strategically positioned.”
Those all sound like the right words to keep Washington appeased, to be sure.
ASN last traded at 9cps.
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