The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has granted a subsidy of 18.8 million euros within the framework of the call for PERTE (Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation) VEC II to the first transformation industrial plant of Extremadura New Energies (ENE), which will produce 33,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year, as reported tonight by the subsidiary company of Infinity Lithium that is processing the excavation project of an underground mine in Valdeflores for the extraction of lithium. The industrial plant is a second phase of the excavation plan for the transformation of the mineral into lithium hydroxide.
According to ENE in a statement, the ministry informed the company on Friday afternoon of the granting of this aid in the so-called section A of PERTE VEC, "which is aimed at encouraging investment in industrial production capacity of batteries for the electric vehicle, its essential components and the production or recovery of necessary fundamental raw materials," he explained.
At first, the request of Extremadura New Energies - made through Tecnología Extremeña del Litio (company owned by Infinity Lihium and Sacyr) - was rejected for administrative reasons. After the allegations presented by the company, the PERTE VEC II verification commission, meeting last Wednesday, agreed to propose a subsidy of 18,822,419 euros for this industry of first transformation projected in Cáceres.
In the line of aid for the production of electric vehicle batteries, the ministry has so far approved subsidies worth 528.7 million euros for 26 projects, "the aid to Extremadura New Energies being the sixth largest," according to the company in the statement released tonight. The CEO of Extremadura New Energies, Ramón Jiménez, valued very positively the inclusion of the ENE project in the list of estimated applications, "since it reinforces the solidity and viability of this industry of first transformation."
The announcement of the granting of the economic contribution of PERTE is preceded by the information disseminated this Thursday by the company on the update of the mechanism of the first transformation of lithium processing in the industrial plant.This change, as stated in the statement launched by the company, "will result in a greater initial investment," which is estimated at 1.43 billion euros.
It also coincides with the presentation by the company of an updated scope study of its exploitation project, which has been disseminated in the information that Infinity Lithium periodically releases for the achievement of financing on the Sydney stock exchange. In this scope study, it is highlighted that there is already a minimum lease of 35 years for an area of approximately 36 hectares in the vicinity of the Miajadas road, which is the space where the mining company plans the construction of its industrial plant for the transformation of the mineral into lithium hydroxide.
This scope study also alludes to the content of the data that the company released last Thursday and in which it reports on the new process for the treatment of the mineral (Li-Stream RPK) for obtaining lithium hydroxide, which is developed by Infinity Green Tech and is currently in the patent phase. With this treatment, according to the company in its statement, "up to 90% of the lithium present in the extracted rock is recovered, with the previous technology approximately 50% was obtained, so that the annual production will reach 33,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, 71% above what was previously considered."
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These two announcements, the new treatment of the mineral and the concession of the contribution of the ministry, occur only weeks before the presentation by the company of all the documentation in the Junta de Extremadura in order to process the exploitation permit of the deposit that the mining company will request. In this procedure, all documentation will be submitted to a public information process in which all groups and interested parties will be able to allege and the competent administrations will be able to submit their sectoral reports.
