Sydney, September 8th (Argus) - Australian producer Core Lithium has successfully produced the first batch of lithium spodumene concentrate at its reactivated Fenniss lithium processing plant located in the Northern Territory.
The company stated that within six months of the final investment decision being made, the plant has successfully resumed operations and plans to ship the first batch of lithium spodumene by December.
The plant will process raw materials from the nearby Fenniss mine. Due to the growth in demand in the electric vehicle and energy storage battery sectors since the end of last year, lithium prices have continued to rise. The Fenniss mine resumed operations in May this year. However, in January 2024, Core suspended production at the Fenniss mine as the price of lithium spodumene dropped by 85% to below $1,000 per ton.
The restart of the Fenniss plant came at a time when the company had exhausted its 75,000-tonne lithium spodumene tailings inventory on September 4th. Core sold the inventory in three batches from April to September to trading company Glencore International.
