Tiny but vital metal markets rush to adjust to Chinese clampdown
A bigger clampdown looks set to have far-reaching ramifications for supply chains feeding American defense and chip-making industries.
Australia’s Liontown Resources said on Monday it has entered a new short-term agreement with Chinese lithium refiner Beijing Sinomine International Trade to supply spodumene concentrate from its flagship Kathleen Valley project.
The short-term deal is for Liontown to ship 100,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Beijing Sinomine over 10 months, starting from Sept. 30.
“Securing a near-term offtake with an established lithium refiner to sell initial volumes over the ramp-up period, de-risks sales during our ramp-up of the plant towards nameplate capacity,” chief executive officer Tony Ottaviano said in a statement.
Liontown has signed similar offtake agreements in the past, the latest being an extension of a deal with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution this month.
(By Archishma Iyer; Editing by Kim Coghill and Tom Hogue)
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