Eramet freezes lithium mine project in Argentina
2020-02-21 12:02:39 [Print]
France's Eramet has postponed an Argentine lithium mine project aimed at shifting the group's focus toward electric vehicle minerals, it said, citing economic and regulatory uncertainty in the debt-stricken South American country.
The French company had been due to make a final investment decision on the project after giving initial approval last year for plans to start producing lithium from late 2021.
"The context in Argentina and the wider economic climate do not allow us at the moment to launch with serenity such a project," Chairman and Chief Executive Christel Bories told after the company reported that it had swung to a net loss in 2019.
Currency controls introduced in Argentina in recent months and uncertainty over debt negotiations with the International Monetary Fund were a key factor in the decision to put the project on hold, she said.
Bories has targeted battery minerals such as lithium as a way to reduce Eramet's reliance on the steel industry, which absorbs most of its historical nickel and manganese output.
She said that a pilot factory at its Argentine mine had confirmed the cost-efficiency of Eramet's deposit and she expects there to be demand for the resource in a growing battery market when conditions for the project are met.
The French company had been due to make a final investment decision on the project after giving initial approval last year for plans to start producing lithium from late 2021.
"The context in Argentina and the wider economic climate do not allow us at the moment to launch with serenity such a project," Chairman and Chief Executive Christel Bories told after the company reported that it had swung to a net loss in 2019.
Currency controls introduced in Argentina in recent months and uncertainty over debt negotiations with the International Monetary Fund were a key factor in the decision to put the project on hold, she said.
Bories has targeted battery minerals such as lithium as a way to reduce Eramet's reliance on the steel industry, which absorbs most of its historical nickel and manganese output.
She said that a pilot factory at its Argentine mine had confirmed the cost-efficiency of Eramet's deposit and she expects there to be demand for the resource in a growing battery market when conditions for the project are met.
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