Bacanora Lithium plc, the London traded lithium company, is pleased to provide an update on its Investment Agreement and Offtake Agreement with leading global lithium company Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. As announced the Agreements have been submitted to the relevant authorities in China for approval and completion. The first of the approvals, from the PRC Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), was received by Ganfeng at the end of July 2019 and we have now been informed that the second approval has been processed by NDRC and received by Ganfeng.
It is anticipated that the final approval from SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange) will be received following a Ganfeng board meeting to be held in the coming weeks. Bacanora will provide further updates once final approval is received.
Mr. Wang Xiaoshen, the Deputy Chairman of Ganfeng Lithium commented, “We are continuing to progress the approval process in China in order to complete our initial investment in Bacanora Lithium and its Sonora Project. We are looking forward to working with Bacanora to develop this world-class project. Our significant investment demonstrates our belief in the viability of the Sonora Project and its ability to become a world class operation and support Ganfeng’s strategy of growing to a 100,000tpa lithium producer.
Our technical team is commencing its review to identify areas where Ganfeng can add value to the project delivery. Ganfeng is committed to supporting Bacanora in its financing and commencing development of the Sonora Project in the coming months.” It is proposed that Mr. Wang will join the Board of Bacanora as a Director upon the completion of the Ganfeng investment.
About GFL
GFL is the world’s third largest and China’s largest lithium compounds producer and the world’s largest lithium metals producer in terms of production capacity as of 31 December 2017, according to CRU International Limited. GFL’s operations are vertically integrated, encompassing all critical stages of the value chain, including upstream lithium extraction, midstream lithium compounds and metals processing as well as downstream lithium battery production and recycling. GFL has one of the most comprehensive product offerings split into five major categories of more than 40 lithium compounds and metals products.