On March 23, Dazhong Mining Co., Ltd. announced that it plans to sign a tripartite Investment Agreement with the Management Committee of Meishan High-tech Industrial Park and Wanhua Chemical (Sichuan) Battery Materials Technology Co., Ltd., under which the company and Wanhua Battery Materials Company intend to jointly invest in the construction of a 200,000-tonne Lithium Salt Project within Meishan High-tech Industrial Park.
The project has a total planned capacity of 200,000 tonnes of lithium salt, to be developed in three phases. In detail, Phase I with an annual output of 30,000 tonnes, Phase II with an annual output of 70,000 tonnes, and a long-term planned Phase III with an annual output of 100,000 tonnes. The combined investment scale for Phase I and Phase II is Yuan 2.2 billion, while the investment for Phase III will be funded through the cash flow generated from the operations of the first two phases in a rolling development manner.
To facilitate project implementation, Dazhong Mining plans to sign a joint venture agreement with Wanhua Battery Materials Company to jointly establish a joint venture company, which will serve as the investment and construction entity for Phase I of the above project, the 30,000-tonne Lithium Salt Project. The JV company will have a registered capital of Yuan 300 million, of which it will contribute Yuan 240 million in cash, holding an 80% equity stake.
This collaboration establishes a fully integrated closed-loop chain spanning lithium mining, lithium salt, and battery materials. Upon reaching full capacity, Phase I is expected to generate annual revenue on the order of Yuan 4 billion.
Edited by Cassie Li, lixiangying@mysteel.com
