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Argosy Minerals customers confirm up to 99.88% lithium carbonate purity for Rincon samples

Last updated: 11:10 02 Jun 2020 AEST, First published: 10:39 02 Jun 2020 AEST

Argosy Minerals Ltd - Argosy Minerals Rincon Project samples customer tested to achieve 99.88% purity
The samples were produced at the company’s industrial-scale pilot plant

Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX:AGY) customers have confirmed up to 99.88% lithium carbonate content for samples from the Rincon Lithium Project in Argentina, the highest purity recorded to date.

Product sample testing was carried out by Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp (TYO:8058), after five separate lithium carbonate sample lots were delivered to Japan and supplied to a Japanese end-user customer.

Argosy managing director Jerko Zuvela said: “These customer analysis results of up to 99.88% Li2CO3 purity further confirms our high-quality lithium carbonate product from our Rincon Project and its marketability into various international battery quality cathode customers.

“This is another significant milestone for the company and our first-class Puna operations team utilising our exclusive clean and environmentally conscious chemical process technology, as we continue toward full development of our Rincon Lithium Project.”

Shares have been as much as 9% higher to 7.3 cents intra-day and are up from 2.6 cents at close on March 23.

Sample analysis

The other four product sample analysis results received attained 99.82%, 99.82%, 99.74% and 99.7% lithium carbonate purity, with all sample results being within the product specification requirements of the potential customer for their own battery cathode manufacturing applications.

These results were achieved using the company’s exclusive, proprietary and successful environmentally clean chemical process technology, specially developed for the Rincon Lithium Project.

AGY’s Argentina project location map.

Supplier qualification process

The product sample testing regime is part of the extensive product supplier qualification process with end-user customers and battery cathode manufacturers, to ensure integrity with these groups’ manufacturing process systems.

This marks a strong intent that the company’s lithium carbonate product quality and specification should enable progress through the rigorous supplier qualification process of several battery cathode manufacturers, and further advances the company’s options for potential Stage 2 offtake arrangements.

In addition, the company has provided lithium carbonate product test samples to other Japanese and Korean potential offtake and/or strategic investor groups, for their own testing and product qualification process requirements.

Funding discussions progress

The company is continuing advanced discussions with such strategic and investment groups for the priority around 2,000 tonnes per annum modular scale (and full commercial 10,000 tonnes per annum scale) potential capex funding/investment requirement.

Argosy notes that this current product testing process is separate and independent to the delivery of the five tonnes of high quality greater than 99.5% lithium carbonate product shipped last month.

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