- Neometals (NMT) and Mineral Resources’ (MIN) joint venture company Reed Advanced Materials signs an agreement with Portuguese chemical producer Bondalti Chemicals
- Reed Advanced owns the ELi processing technology, which purifies and electrolyses lithium chloride solutions to produce lithium hydroxide.
- The agreement contemplates the co-funding of evaluation activities required for a decision to form a 50:50 joint venture to construct and operate a lithium refinery
- The proposed 25,000 tonnes per annum lithium refinery in Portugal will be the first ELi deployment to produce battery quality lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate
- Just before the market opens this morning, Neometals last traded at $1.05 per share
Neometals (NMT) and Mineral Resources’ (MIN) joint venture company Reed Advanced Materials has signed an agreement with Portugal’s largest chemical producer Bondalti Chemicals.
Reed Advanced owns the ELi processing technology, which purifies and electrolyses lithium chloride solutions to produce lithium hydroxide.
ELi replaced the conventional carbon-intensive chemical conversion of lithium chloride solutions with electrolysis to produce lithium chemicals.
The technology allows lithium chemical production at brine/hard rock source using stored renewable energy with the lowest carbon footprint at the lowest quartile costs.
The binding co-operation agreement will evaluate the commercialisation of its ELi lithium process in Europe.
Reed and Bondalti are discussing the co-funding of certain evaluation activities needed to form a 50:50 joint venture to construct and operate a lithium refinery.
The proposed 25,000 tonnes per annum lithium refinery in Portugal will be the first ELi deployment to produce battery quality lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate.
Both parties will co-fund the construction and operation of a pilot plant at Estarreja and complete evaluation studies over 18 months at a cost of US$4 million (A$5.5 million).
Commenting on the agreement is Managing Director Chris Reed.
“We are eager to take another step towards commercialising our ELi process and building a globally competitive, high purity ‘battery quality’ lithium chemical facility,” he said.
“Bondalti is a highly credentialed chemical producer and operator of chlor-alkali facilities
which use electrolysis to produce sodium hydroxide. Moreover, Bondalti’s existing by-product hydrogen and chlorine gases provide a ready market for the by-products of the ELi Process.”
Just before the market opens this morning, Neometals last traded at $1.05 per share.