Special Report: Australian Mines may secure a pre-payment from its South Korean offtake partner that will ease financing requirements for its Sconi project.

The ongoing demand for both nickel and cobalt, both vital metals used for lithium-ion batteries, has left battery manufacturers scrambling to secure supplies.

It’s great news for advanced battery materials play Australian Mines (ASX:AUZ).

Today, it announced that battery manufacturer SK Innovation is now considering making a pre-payment that could help finance construction of the multi-generational Sconi cobalt-nickel-scandium project in Queensland.

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SK Innovation, which has already agreed to buy 100 per cent of the nickel and cobalt sulphate production from Sconi, will now carry out additional project financing due diligence.

If the South Korean battery manufacturer decides to make a pre-payment before 31 October 2019, the two companies will then negotiate and finalise the formal documentation by the end of January next year.

A pre-payment from SK Innovation would significantly boost Australian Mines’ efforts to secure financing for Sconi, which is currently the subject of discussions with a range of potential project financiers.

Sconi has the potential to produce 7000 tonnes of cobalt sulphate, 46,800 tonnes of nickel sulphate, and 48 tonnes of scandium oxide per year across an initial 30-year life.

NOW READ: Benchmark forecasts stronger cobalt prices going into 2020

 

This story was developed in collaboration with Australian Mines, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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