(Kitco News) - French mining group Eramet announced today that its Lithium Project is moving forward with the construction of the production plant in Argentina.
According to the company’s statement, the first volumes of concrete, out of a total of 17,500 m3, were poured in May on the Centenario-Ratones salar, and will allow the assembly of the plant's 5,900 tons of metal structures.
The company said that to achieve this, 350 builders are currently working on the site, and 1,000 are expected by the end of the year, at the peak of construction, adding that teams from Eramet and its Chinese partner Tsingshan are on hand to supervise the 1,000 workers on site and ensure that operations run smoothly.
Importantly, Eramet noted that delivery of the plant is scheduled for December 2023, and the first tonnes of lithium carbonate are expected in January 2024.
The company’s Centenario-Ratones lithium project is an area of the Andes in the north-west of Argentina at an altitude of 3,800 meters. Total resources of the project amounted to 10 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.
In November 2021, Eramet launched the construction of its production plant with the signature of a partnership with Chinese steel group Tsingshan, the world’s leading producer of stainless steels.
Eramet will control the project, with a 50.1% interest, and will retain operational management responsibility; its partner Tsingshan will finance the plant construction in exchange of a 49.9% interest in the project.
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