AVZ Minerals has another big Chinese battery maker on the hook

Pic: Tyler Stableford / Stone via Getty Images

Another Chinese battery manufacturer has agreed to work with lithium player AVZ Minerals on a potential investment and sales deal.

The company (ASX:AVZ) has attracted heavyweight Beijing National Battery Technology to the table less than a week after it revealed it had inked its first memorandum of understanding with China’s Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology.

AVZ shares gained 8.5 per cent to trade at 25.5c in heavy trade on Monday afternoon. The shares closed at 25c.

Beijing National Battery Technology holds the dominant market position for the supply of batteries to China’s bus industry, AVZ told investors.

The company has more than 300 patents and six high-performance lithium ion battery production facilities in Henan, Zhejiang, Hubei and Jiangxi and other regions, with annual production capacity in excess of 3 billion amp hours.

AVZ is garnering interest from Chinese players for potential investment in or supply from its Manono lithium project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

AVZ shares over the past six months.

Chairman Klaus Eckhof has previously described Manono as one of the “longest pegmatite intercepts ever reported”.

Pegmatites are rocks formed from lava or magma that are the primary source of lithium.

AVZ has been contacted for comment.