Nemaska Lithium and Johnson Matthey Battery Materials (JMBM) of Candiac, Quebec, have inked final agreements in the collaboration, financial support and lithium salt supply MOU previously announced last November.
A first deal – the deposit agreement – contemplates an up-front payment of CAD$12M (US$9.3m) by JMBM in exchange for services and products of the same value from the Nemaska Lithium Phase 1 plant.
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At completion, CAD$12M will be deposited in an escrow account and disbursed to Nemaska Lithium according to certain milestones.
A second agreement provides for a long-term supply relationship for lithium salts between Nemaska Lithium and JMBM. This is Nemaska Lithium’s first commercial off-take agreement.
The closing of the JMBM agreement completes the financing of the Phase 1 Plant.
Total budget to build and operate the Phase 1 Plant for two years is CAD$38m, of which CAD$12m comes from a JMBM up-front payment, CAD$13m from Sustainable Development Technologies Canada (SDTC), a CAD$3m grant from the Technoclimat programme through the Bureau de l’Efficacité et de l’Innovation Energétiques of the Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources Naturelles and finally a CAD$10m equity investment by Ressources Québec
“We are delighted to have signed these agreements today with Nemaska Lithium; securing the long term supply of lithium salts is an important part of our strategy as we continue to grow our Battery Materials business,” said Johnson Matthey global Battery Materials business managing director, Neil Collins.
