Pilbara Minerals inks additional lithium supply deal with China’s Great Wall

Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals on Tuesday said it had signed an additional deal with Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor Co Ltd to supply spodumene concentrate, a key mineral for electric vehicles.

Deliveries under the deal will begin in August, with 20,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrate to be shipped annually for six years.

The West-Perth based company’s shares reversed course to rise as much as 13.7% after the announcement, their sharpest gain in over three months.

In 2017, Great Wall Motor took a 3.5% stake in Pilbara and signed an off-take deal that would provide it with 75,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate each year for an initial five-year period. reut.rs/2S3G3ck

Pilbara said it shipped 43,214 dry metric tonnes of concentrate in the June quarter, higher than previous quarter’s figure of 38,562 dry metric tonnes of concentrate.

The miner expects sales in three months ending September to be in the range of 35,000-48,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrate, impacted by a 14-day planned shutdown at its Pilgangoora project.

Though sales are anticipated to be in the range of 65,000-80,000 dry metric tonnes of concentrate in the December quarter as production returns to full capacity.

(By Aditya Soni; Editing by Rashmi Aich)