Moves to create integrated European lithium company
Rock Tech Lithium and Arcore AG will merge to establish a fully integrated lithium supply chain from mine to battery-grade products.
Rock Tech Lithium is aiming to produce lithium hydroxide for electric vehicles batteries in signing an agreement with Arcore, a Swiss-based mining company.
The merger will form a European joint venture, NewCo. The core assets will include Rock Tech’s fully permitted lithium converter in Guben, Germany, and Arcore’s lithium-boron-magnesium mining project in Lopare, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Rock Tech will contribute 75% of NewCo’s registered share capital and Arcore will hold shares representing 25% of the share capital.
Arcore’s mineral deposit has the potential to become one of the largest lithium mines in Europe with estimated 600,00t of lithium carbonate equivalent.
The Guben lithium converter is designed to produce battery-grade LHM for up to 500,000 electric vehicles per year.
It is envisioned that the Lopare project will deliver lithium sulphate feedstock (produced at site) to the Guben converter from 2030 onwards, in addition to the already secured spodumene supply from contracted partners.
The centrepiece of Rock Tech’s European activities is its planned lithium-hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) converter in the Brandenburg battery cluster.
Dirk Harbecke, Rock Tech CEO and Chairman, says, ‘Strong European supply chains are essential to secure the region's strategic autonomy, promote industrial competitiveness and enable the transformation to a climate-neutral economy.
'Europe is currently heavily dependent on imports of critical raw materials such as lithium. This is an important step for Rock Tech to become the European leader in battery raw materials supply.’
For more like this...
