PLS - Lithium related news, page-141

• Mar 25 2018 at 3:22 PM
• Updated Mar 25 2018 at 4:27 PM
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China's Tianqi rejects ATO lithium probe pricing concerns

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Tianqi's lithium hydroxide plant in Kwinana, WA. Supplied

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by Michael Smith
China's Tianqi said the mechanisms setting the price it pays for Australian lithium products from a local subsidiary are "appropriate" and production at its $700 million lithium hydroxide plant south of Perth is on track, despite an Australian Tax Office probe into the company.
"The ATO is reviewing the pricing proposed in the advanced pricing arrangement (APA) and the pricing methods adopted in the 2015 and 2016 years," the company said in its annual report, published on Saturday.
"Management believes the pricing proposed in the advanced pricing arrangement and the pricing methods adopted in the 2015 and 2016 years are appropriate and therefore reasonable prices have been applied to related cross-border party sales."
It was the first public comments the Chinese giant has made about an ATO investigation into the price Tianqi and US giant Albemarle bought Australian lithium products from the Greenbushes mine in Western Australia in 2015 and 2016. If the audit goes against them, they will have to pay for lithium they purchase from the mine.
Surging demand for lithium
Greenbushes is the world's biggest and highest-grade producer of lithium-rich spodumene rock, and surging demand for lithium has driven a doubling of revenues and profits over the past three years for the private company that owns the mine, Windfield Holdings.
The company's annual report, published in China on Saturday, said Tianqi and its domestic subsidiary had submitted a proposal to the APA and the development of its 48,000-tonne lithium project was running "smoothly". It said the timeline of its Australian expansion project had not changed.
Tianqi did not respond to requests from The Australian Financial Review to comment on the ATO investigation. The company, which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is valued at $US67 billion ($87 billion).
It is spending $700 million on a facility south of Perth that will convert spodumene concentrate into the sort of lithium hydroxide that can be used in batteries.
However, a spokesperson for Tianqi chairman Jiang Weiping earlier told the AFR that it was confident about plans to double production at Greenbushes from 740,000 tonnes a year of spodumene concentrate to 1.34 million tonnes a year. The expansion project would take place in the second quarter of next year.
"We have mature lithium extraction technology, a clear project plan and capital advantage. With a good match with the rich resources in Australia, we do not only play a positive role in Australia employment and tax income, but also encourage cultural communication through the development of local community," the spokesperson said.
"Therefore, Tianqi's investment project has been welcomed and supported by [the] West Australian government."
Tianqi and Albemarle last year announced plans to double mine production at Greenbushes and are looking at further expansion. The facility supplies 34 per cent of the world's lithium.

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