RIO – The Japanese Mitsui closed an agreement, this Thursday (28/3), to invest in Atlas Lithium – a company based in the United States that is developing a lithium exploration project in the Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais.
The agreement, signed in the Japanese capital Tokyo, consists of the purchase by Mitsui of US$30 million in Atlas common shares and a offtake for the future purchase of 15 thousand tons of lithium (or spodumene) concentrate from Phase 1, and 60 thousand tons per year, during five years of Phase 2 of the Neves Project, from Atlas Lithium.
The Neves Project is expected to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2024, with annual production of 300 thousand tons of spodumene concentrate, which is equivalent to approximately 1 million electric vehicles, according to Atlas.
“Today marks a significant milestone for Atlas Lithium as we move toward our goal of becoming a leading supplier of lithium to the global electric vehicle battery materials supply chain,” said Marc Fogassa, CEO and president of Atlas Lithium. Atlas Lithium.
Mitsui has been operating in Brazil since the 1970s, with investments in the areas of mining, energy, among others.
According to a statement from the Japanese company, “participation in this lithium mining business will further strengthen our business portfolio in the battery industry and contribute to the establishment of stable and reliable battery value chains.”
Brazil’s Competitiveness
Recently, Atlas secured planned investments to set up the company’s first plant. Chengxin, the largest supplier of the Chinese BYD, and Yahua, a supplier of the North American Tesla, announced a total of US$50 million for Atlas Lithium.
The contract involves direct investment in the company (US$10 million) and purchase agreements (US$40 million), in exchange for 80% of the company’s assets.
“These companies are large producers of lithium-based chemicals. Yahua will manufacture lithium spodumene hydroxide with our concentrate, and Chengxin will probably produce lithium carbonate”, detailed Fogassa, in an interview with epbr agency.
On the occasion, the executive highlighted the competitiveness of Brazilian lithium, even with the melting of mineral prices on the market.
“The prices of lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate and spodumene have fallen by between 70% and 80%. We at Atlas are not worried, because we believe that our product will continue to be a high-quality and relatively low-cost product,” he said.
According to Fogassa, the extraction and operating costs of the lithium plant in the region are very low and should be even more competitive than other major global producers, such as Australia.
“Brazil is like Australia was ten years ago, except that the cost in Brazil is a quarter or a third of the cost in Australia, including labor, inputs, transport, etc. This allows the material produced in Brazil to have an attractive cost.”
