I don't think $11000t for LiOH is too high. Prices in the US/Europe are currently US$14000-20000 per tonne getting up to $28000t in China. Remember its only costing NMT/MIN $4630t to produce. Even for the future, with how everything is going battery/wireless, home storage, electric cars, power tools, lawnmowers, motorbikes, computers, phones etc the list goes on and is getting a lot longer and the worlds population is growing faster everyday so there will always be a higher demand and higher prices.
NMT/MINs ELi down stream conversion plant has nothing to do with Mt Marion. The only thing that associates the plant with the mine is that the plants feed will eventually be coming from the Mt Marion mine. Plus two companies associated with the mine are going in together to build the downstream plant.
NMX has a mine and are building a downstream conversion plant. Because of this, they have put in their downstream DFS that the cost of spodumene concentrate is at $145 a tonne which I guess is the cost price to them per tonne from mining it. This is where they are getting their best saving through out their conversion process.
It takes about 8 tonne of spodumene concentrate to produce 1 tonne of hydroxide.
Since NMT/MINs ELi downstream processor is not completely tied in with Mt Marion, they are paying higher prices for the spodumene concentrate produced from Mt Marion which I believe would be approx. $387 a tonne based on their price stated in the DFS of $3097 of spodumene concentrate per tonne of hydroxide (a lot higher than NMXs $145 per tonne). This is why its more expensive to produce both hydroxide and carbonate through NMT/MINs ELi process as they are not getting the discounted spodumene concentrate like NMX is.
I will just throw some figures together for an example. So it takes 8 tonne of spodumene concentrate to make one tonne of hydroxide. NMX cost per tonne of hydroxide is $3441/t, NMT/MINs cost per tonne of hydroxide is $4630/t. NMXs cost of spodumene concentrate is $145/t x 8t= $1160 worth of spodumene in each tonne of hydroxide. NMT/MINs cost per tonne of spodumene concentrate is $387/t x 8t= $3096/t of spodumene in each tonne of hydroxide. $3096-$1160= $1936 it cost more per tonne of hydroxide for NMT/MIN. Add this difference to NMXs hydroxide price to compare it with NMT/MINs spodumene costs and NMXs cost per tonne of hydroxide is now $5377t (based on $387t spodumene concentrate) which is $747 more per tonne of hydroxide showing NMT/MINs downstream plant ELI patented technology is much more cost efficient then the method Nemaska NMX is using to convert in their downstream plant. I am pretty certain these figures are correct but I am currently working away and its late and I am tired.
The FS has been completed using a location in Peninsular Malaysia as the base for operations. Malaysia offers good logistic access for bulk spodumene concentrate deliveries from Australia and proximity to the main base of global lithium battery cathode production. NMT’s negotiations with Malaysian Government agencies have been supportive of locating the project there.
To me this down stream processing plant will be very successful for both NMT and MIN. The 51% IRR is not as much as I was hoping but is still a very high return. Looking forward to future success from this project.
http://www.*.com.au/companies/news/...ential-from-patented-elitm-process-69741.html
