[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Indong Advanced Materials announced on the 30th that it has acquired the mining rights for the development of a 'lithium mine' located near the Salar de Uyuni desert in Bolivia and has completed the notification to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Ministry has already completed the review and approval of the overseas resource development project plan (Bolivia Evaporative Resource Industrialization Project) reported by Indong Advanced Materials.
Typically, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy conducts a thorough verification process during the notification approval, so although many companies have announced plans to develop lithium mines, only a very few have proceeded to the stage of resource development project notification, the ministry explained.
The mining rights acquired by Indong Advanced Materials this time pertain to a lithium mine located in the 'Salar de Uyuni Desert District 1' in Bolivia. The mining rights owner is the U.S. energy company Green Energy Global Inc. (GEGI). GEGI is a company specializing in electric vehicle charging solutions and solar power generation based in Arizona, USA. The mining rights secured by GEGI cover 9 million tons of lithium.
In August this year, Indong Advanced Materials signed a contract with GEGI for lithium mining business rights and initially acquired mining rights for 1.215 million tons out of the 9 million tons of lithium mining rights secured by GEGI. The 1.215 million tons correspond to a value of approximately 130 trillion KRW. The mining rights include the right to extract target minerals from others' mining areas.
The mining business is planned to be conducted through the joint venture 'Indong Mineral Bolivia' with GEGI, where GEGI holds 55% of the shares and Indong Advanced Materials holds 44.2%. Indong Advanced Materials plans to invest $161.8 million by 2025 to complete key production facilities such as lithium concentrate processing plants and evaporation ponds.
Initially, Indong Advanced Materials plans to establish production facilities with a capacity of 4,000 tons by next year and begin full-scale mass production. In 2024, the annual production is expected to reach 24,000 tons, and in 2025, 40,000 tons, aiming to expand production capacity by about tenfold within three years.
An official from Indong Advanced Materials stated, "Since 2021, lithium prices have continuously hit record highs worldwide due to rapidly increasing global demand, and demand is expected to steadily grow based on the increase in electric vehicle battery production, indicating significant growth potential." They added, "Through this lithium mining business right (mining rights), Indong Advanced Materials expects to secure a stable supply chain of raw materials for secondary batteries and benefit from the growth of the secondary battery market."
In September, Indong Advanced Materials held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders and added the following to its articles of incorporation to pursue new business: ▲ Exploration, extraction, development, and technical service provision for domestic and overseas resources and energy ▲ Mining industry and mineral sales ▲ Resource development and sales ▲ Non-ferrous metal smelting and sales.
Meanwhile, Indong Advanced Materials owns the secondary battery value chain from materials to finished products through its affiliates FIC New Materials and Eurocell. Based on micro-grinding technology, FIC New Materials is preparing for mass production of silicon-graphite composite anode materials, and Eurocell plans to use these to produce high-capacity batteries.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
