AUZ announcement, page-762

Australian Mines gets South Korean giant onside

• The West Australian
• 16 Feb 2018
• Stuart McKinnon

Australian Mines is set to sign up a South Korean energy and chemicals giant as an offtake and funding partner for its flagship Sconi nickel-cobalt-scandium project in Queensland.
The Benjamin Bell-led company is expected to emerge from a trading halt today to announce that SK Innovation will take 100 per cent of its nickel and cobalt production from Sconi over an initial seven years with a sixyear extension option.
The binding deal covers 12,000tpa of cobalt sulphate and 60,000tpa of nickel sulphate, with prices to be linked to the London Metal Exchange.
WestBusiness understands the agreement provides an option for SK to buy a 19.9 per cent stake in Australian Mines for an investment of about $65 million.
Australian Mines’ new partner will provide input into the company’s bankable feasibility study for Sconi, which is expected to be completed by the middle of the year.
Australian Mines’ products are destined for SK’s newly developed electric vehicle battery manufacturing plants in Hungary and Korea, which will provide units for premium German car makers.
The Korean company’s parent SK Holdings is the 57th biggest company in the world with annual revenue of more than $US120 billion. Shares in Australian Mines, which last changed hands for 9.1¢, are expected to emerge from a trading halt this morning.