Cornish Lithium Ltd said that TechMet Ltd will invest a further £9 million at 20 pence per share, following the scoping study for the Trelavour hard rock lithium project.
SCOPING STUDY
The option is the second tranche of TechMet‘s £18m funding package announced in November 2021.
The scoping study sets out the design and economics of the Trelavour project based on the production of battery grade lithium hydroxide.
The project comprises open pit mining of lithium enriched granite from a brownfield china clay pit, together with processing via comminution and flotation to a concentrate of lithium-bearing mica.
Lithium hydroxide is produced from the mica concentrate utilising the licensed Lepidico leaching process at an industrial site close to the mine.
RESULTS
Results of the scoping study include:
– 1.25Mt pa run of mine, with a 20-year mine life producing an average of 7,800t pa of lithium hydroxide.
– post-tax NPV (8%) of US$318.6m and a post-tax IRR of 24.4%.
– initial capital expenditure of US$243.8m (including US$48.9m of contingency).
– payback expected within 3.8 years from first production.
Trelavour also lies close to existing infrastructure, including power, rail, road and port facilities.
BY-PRODUCTS
Cornish Lithium added that potential for economic improvement lay in additional revenue from by-products such as caesium and rubidium.
The company is currently completing processing test work that will provide representative samples and specification of the by-products to estimate their value.
Results are expected by the end of Q3 2022.
FURTHER STUDIES
Cornish Lithium is also working towards a feasibility study for Trelavour.
The next drilling programme will soon start and is designed to further expand the mineral resource, and convert it from inferred to measured and indicated classification under the JORC Code.
Environmental surveys and studies have already started, and the company continues its community engagement activities.
ROBUSTNESS
Founder and chief executive Jeremy Wrathall said that TechMet’s decision to exercise its option demonstrated the robustness of the Trelavour project.
“The project team has undertaken a significant amount of work to ensure that this is a fulsome and detailed study, and I am delighted that it has generated such a strong result.
“The Trelavour project provides a significant opportunity to create additional skilled jobs in the St Austell region and to develop lithium on a commercial scale to service the UK’s growing battery industry.”
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