Canadian mining company Canada Lithium (TSX: CLQ) has reached an agreement with Japan’s Marubeni (TYO: 8002) under which the latter will exclusively distribute Canada Lithium’s battery-grade lithium carbonate in Japan for the next three years. The agreement may be extended for another three years in 2016.
Lithium-ion batteries form a major industry, as electric vehicles increasingly garner public and investor attention. That means plenty of high-grade lithium is needed.
Mining Weekly Online indicates that CEO of Canada Lithium, Peter Seckler, stated the agreement covers about a quarter of the company’s production, which is about 2,000t of lithium carbonate over this year. That should rise to about 3,000t next year and about 5,000t in 2015. First shipments are projected to begin in July.
Last year in November, Canada Lithium also signed a five-year offtake agreement with China’s Tianjin Products and Energy Resources Development for 12,000t of battery-grade lithium carbonate. The deal includes a provision for expansion of supply up to 14,400t, or almost 60 percent of Canada Lithium’s overall production.
Shares for the company were up 6.49% on Monday morning to $0.82.
