AMN - DRC: AVZ signs two lithium MoUs with Chinese

AVZ Minerals has signed two MoUs with Chinese battery manufacturers regarding potential investment and offtake opportunities centred on the company's Manono Lithium Project in the DRC.

One agreement has been signed with Beijing National Battery Technology Co Ltd (BNB), which is headquartered in Beijing and holds the dominant market position for the supply of batteries to China's bus industry.

The company holds more than 300 patents and has six high-performance lithium-ion battery production lines in Henan, Zhejiang, Hubei and Jiangxi and other regions with annual production capacity in excess of 3 billion AH.

BNB has a strong focus on rapidly expanding its battery manufacturing capacity and securing long-life, low-cost lithium supply is seen as a critical part of their strategy.

Discussions with BNB have been ongoing for a number of months and as part of BNB’s in progress due diligence, AVZ has extended an invitation to visit its operations in the DRC to help facilitate a proper appreciation of the enormous potential of the Manono project.

BNB has its own in-house team of more than 200 technical staff, with over 15-years of experience in China's lithium-ion battery sector.

It has developed the next generation of lithium-ion phosphate batteries with energy densities of 220 Wh/kg, and for its lithium nickel cobalt manganese O2 batteries, energy densities of 330 Wh/kg have been reached. Both of these battery series are planned for mass production in 2020.

An MoU has also been signed with Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co Ltd, which is the largest battery electrolyte manufacturer globally and supplies a substantial portion of the global battery electrolyte market.

Tinci has invested in Ronghui Industry and Jiangxi Lithium and other lithium carbonate manufacturers.

An invitation has also been extended to Tinci to visit AVZ's operations in the DRC for more formal discussions.

www.avzminerals.com.au