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Argosy Minerals (ASX:AGY) suspends operations at Rincon Lithium Project

Materials
ASX:AGY      MCAP $182.5M
23 March 2020 11:30 (AEST)

Argosy Minerals (AGY) has suspended pilot operations at its Argentinian Rincon Lithium Project as the country goes into lockdown.

The country’s President, Alberto Fernandez, announced a mandatory quarantine yesterday, which will take effect from March 31. 

People will be restricted to their homes, with marginal flexibility permitted for shoping for basic goods. President Fernandez also said that anyone caught breaking the new regulations may face criminal prosecution.

Argosy, in the meantime, will continue with other project works. The company said it will prioritise specific work where possible, including its scheduled lithium carbonate cargo trial.

Five tonnes of high-quality lithium carbonate will be shipped and delivered later this month, pursuant to a sales agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan.

The company says it will continue to pursue a funding solution for the scale-up of the Rincon Lithium Project, following the receipt of regulatory approvals.

Jerko Zuvela, Managing Director of Argosy Minerals, commented on the project suspension.

“Given the unprecedented conditions affecting the world today, we will continue building Argosy to achieve our aim of becoming a commercial LCE producer,” Jerko said.

He added that the company has strong fundamentals and would, when the current turmoil resides, be strong beneficiaries, given the completion of project milestones to date.

As of December 31, 2019, the company had approximately $5.97 million in cash reserves. 

With “prudent financial management,” Argosy expects that these reserves will successfully fund the company until late-2021. The company also said that it will explore further cash preservation initiatives as required.

Shares in Argosy Minerals are down 15.6 per cent on market today, trading for 2.7 cents each at 11:19 am AEDT.

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