Lundin Gold expects to reach the ore body at its Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador during the first quarter of 2019, and pour first gold at around this time next year.
The deal will see Altura supply Ganfeng with 8,000 tonnes of 6-percent spodumene concentrate this year and a minimum of 70,000 tonnes per year from 2019 to 2021.
Germany has earmarked 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to support a consortium looking to produce electric car battery cells and plans to fund a research facility to develop next-generation solid-state batteries.