Overview
- POSCO will take 30% of a new MinRes subholding that owns MinRes’ 50% interests in the Wodgina and Mt Marion mines, giving it an indirect roughly 15% interest in each project.
- MinRes said it will use the proceeds to repay external debt and strengthen its balance sheet following weaker earnings in a soft lithium market.
- POSCO expects about 270,000 tons per year of spodumene concentrate from the assets, enough to produce roughly 37,000 tons of lithium hydroxide.
- The companies said MinRes remains the operator under existing partnerships, retaining entitlement to the remaining 70% of spodumene output.
- POSCO also agreed to buy Lithium South’s Argentine subsidiary for about 95 billion won to expand brine resources, while MinRes shares jumped as much as 10.8% on the news.