Canadian-Based Rock Tech Lithium Hosts Groundbreaking Ceremony for 1st Lithium Converter Facility in Europe
Rock Tech Lithium, a company that is working towards opening a lithium mine in Ontario, has announced it started construction on what will be the European Union’s first lithium converter facility. On Monday, March 27, 2023, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held in Guben, Germany.
RockTech is a Canadian mining company based in Vancouver, British Columbia with lithium mining potential in Ontario at its Georgia Lake property located 187 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. In addition to mining lithium, RockTech plans to build five lithium converters with the first one under construction in Gruben, Germany.
“We will be the first to bring the high-tech refining of this critical battery component to Germany — the heart of today’s EV revolution,” said Dirk Harbecke, the CEO and Chairman of the Board. “From our base in Canada, we are poised to serve the North American market next.”
The construction of the lithium converter facility at Gruben, Germany marks a significant step in positioning RockTech as a major supplier and processor of a much in demand ingredient in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries.
“The dynamics in the lithium industry continue to increase every day, and we at Rock Tech do our part,” Harbecke declared. “I spend quite some time in North America and Australia and investors and business partners value our strategy more and more as the right one, with our focus on regional lithium supply, understanding that the medium- and long-term shortages in our industry are the conversion capacities!” said Harbecke.
“This is why we aim to build 5 converters by the end of this decade,” he added. In Ontario, Rock Tech continues to work on expanding the size of its lithium resource at its Georgia Lake property and is looking to unlock additional growth potential by advancing drilling and prospecting activities across the full land package."
Major German auto companies are making the transition from gasoline powered to electric vehicles their top priority. Harbecke acknowledges this is the major reason Gruben was selected to be the first of five lithium converters to be built.
“I am very happy to welcome our guests from politics - but especially our business partners like Mercedes-Benz and financing partners that are joining the ceremony,” said Harbecke. “This is an important milestone for us - we have already invested more than 350,000 man-hours to reach this stage. The start of commissioning and ramp-up is expected in 2025.”
The company completed its Preliminary Financial Study (PFS) in November, 2022 which concluded that the site can produce lithium in Canada at competitive costs.
“We want to become the first lithium mine operating in Ontario,” Harbecke stated. “At the PDAC mining conference in Toronto earlier this month, we secured the support of several high-ranked politicians to get into production soon.”
“The bottom line is: We are planning for our lithium deposit in Canada to start production in 2025, not least to ensure supply to our converter in Germany,” Harbecke said.
According to Harbecke, the lithium industry is growing strongly.
“I attended the largest global mining investors conference a few weeks ago, which for 20 years used to be the playing field of the large miners,” recounted Harbecke. “This year, all the CEOs of the lithium industry were there, and I had 30 meetings with institutional investors in two days – lithium is no longer a side topic, but a major investment story.”
Harbecke noted the lithium prices are correcting currently on the spot market, and that is a healthy development.
“To put this into context: The current market prices are still 2x-3x above our sales price assumptions in our feasibility studies,” Harbecke explained.
For further information, please contact:
Andre Mandel
VP Marketing & Communications
Rock Tech Lithium Inc.
777 Hornby Street, Suite 600
Vancouver, B.C., V6Z 1S4
Telephone: (49) 151 22 25 40 14
Email: amandel@rocktechlithium.com
https://www.rocktechlithium.com/
Tags: Europe / Green Mining / Battery Metals / All Articles