São Paulo, August 25th (Argus) - Australian miner Galan Lithium has secured 20 million Australian dollars (equivalent to 13 million US dollars) in financing for its Hombre Muerto West (HMW) lithium project in Argentina. The project is set to commence production in the first half of 2026.
The South African private equity firm Clean Elements, which focuses on investing in lithium projects, will make two payments of 10 million Australian dollars (6.5 million US dollars) to Galan - the first before September 1st and the second before November 22nd. This investment will provide funds for the construction of Galan's HMW lithium chloride plant, for the "remaining months of 2025's construction project", and will commence production in early 2026.
Juan Pablo de la Vega, the company's managing director, said: "HMW will deliver the first batch of lithium chloride concentrate production in the first half of 2026." The project has also been included in Argentina's large-scale investment system (RIGI), which grants it tax breaks and 30 years of legal stability.
According to Ofer Amir, the chairman of Clean Elements, HMW is located in Cataca Province and is one of the highest-grade and purest lithium salts in Argentina, with lower magnesium and calcium content than the Atacama salt lake in Chile.
Galan stated that HMW has a resource of 78.6 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). When it applied for financial support in 2024, the company said it planned to produce 4,000 tons per year of LCE in the first phase and reach 5,400 tons per year at full capacity.
