TECHNOLOGY
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Infinity Lithium is an Australian listed minerals company , working in partnership with Valoriza Mineria ( the mining subsidiary of major construction and engineering company SACYR ), to develop the San Jose Lithium Project following a public tender won in 2016 . Situated in the Extremadura region of Spain , it will be the sole European mine-to-end-product lithium hydroxide operation when completed . “ Our intent is to develop a fully integrated lithium production process – from mining all the way down to producing lithium chemicals for the growing battery market ,” pledges Vincent Ledoux Pedailles , Infinity ’ s Executive Director – European Corporate Strategy .
The 50 / 50 joint venture ( JV ) will take advantage of a gas pipeline installed next to the plant . The site itself was mined in the late 80s with data from that time being used for Infinity ’ s feasibility study which is now underway . Ledoux Pedailles concedes the biggest challenge still to overcome is financing – lithium is still a relatively small market with less than 300,000 tonnes forecast for 2019 . “ Banks and financial institutions are reluctant to support the industry as it remains an emerging market which includes both chemical and mining industries ,” he adds . “ It ’ s not a price you can hedge on the LME at the moment which can make it more difficult to finance a project .” However ,
FEBRUARY 2019