REG - Neometals Ltd - Primobius Commercial Update

NeometalsAnnouncement

22/12/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 7570X  Neometals Ltd  22 December 2023

This announcement contains inside information

 

22 December 2023

 

Neometals Ltd

("Neometals" or "the Company")

 

Primobius Commercial Update

 

Highlights

·     Stelco Inc. ("Stelco") has extended the expiry date of Primobius'
option to acquire up to 50% of its lithium-ion battery recycling business to
30 June 2025;

·   Primobius has amended the definition and timing of product readiness
under the technology licence agreement to align with a fully-integrated plant
offer before 30 June 2025, rather than a standalone spoke followed by the
hydrometallurgical refinery hub; and

·   Primobius' commercial spoke product readiness remains on track for April
2024 following installation of the Mercedes-Benz spoke.

 

Innovative battery materials recycler, Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT & AIM: NMT)
("Neometals" or "the Company"), advises that Primobius GmbH ("Primobius"), the
joint venture company owned 50:50 by Neometals and SMS group GmbH ("SMS
group"), has amended the technology licence and option agreements with 1340455
B.C. LTD, Stelco's lithium-ion battery recycling special purpose vehicle
("Stelco SPV").

Since 2021, the parties have been conducting due diligence, front-end
engineering studies and building the business case for a long-term commercial
recycling operation 1 . The Stelco SPV holds an exclusive licence from
Primobius to process LiB's from end-of-life vehicles (excluding German
carmakers) in North America. Primobius holds an option to acquire up to 50%
equity in the Stelco SPV. The preferred business case is the start up as a
fully-integrated operation to provide the carmakers, who supply the
end-of-life EVs, with a secure supply of key battery cathode chemicals.

The option agreement amendment extends the option expiry date for Primobius to
buy-in to Stelco SPV until 30 June 2025. The technology licence amendment
changes the product offering from a shredding spoke to a hydrometallurgical
refinery hub and the product readiness date to 30 June 2025. Primobius is
working to achieve product readiness for its commercial spoke plants by April
2024.

Primobius plans to offer a fully-integrated plant supply contract to the
Stelco SPV (and other customers) in the June Q 2025 following completion of a
detailed engineering study and final factory acceptance testing of the
fully-integrated Mercedes-Benz 2,500tpa pilot plant.

Neometals Managing Director Chris Reed said:

"Primobius values the strong working relationship with Stelco. The shift in
business model to offer North American car makers a secure supply of battery
materials from their end-of-life electric vehicles is a reflection of what the
end customer wants. Primobius recycling plants provide their owners with a
recycling solution to recover high-purity battery materials at lower
carbon-footprint than from virgin mined materials.

We committed to becoming the leading provider of LiB recycling plants through
a stepwise approach to demonstrate the efficacy of our plants at increasing
scales, firstly with Mercedes at 2,500tpa then rolling out the ~20,000tpa
offering worldwide."

Authorised on behalf of Neometals by Christopher Reed, Managing Director.

 

 

For more information, please contact:

 

 Neometals Ltd
 Chris Reed, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer         +61 8 9322 1182
 Jeremy McManus, General Manager - IP & IR                       +61 8 9322 1182

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited - NOMAD & Joint Broker
 Neil McDonald                                                  +44 (0)131 220 9771
 Peter Lynch                                                    +44 (0)131 220 9772
 Adam Rae                                                       +44 (0)131 220 9778

 RBC Capital Markets - Joint Broker                             +44 (0) 20 7653 4000
 Paul Betts
 Jamil Miah

 Camarco PR                                                     + 44(0) 20 3 757 4980
 Gordon Poole
 Emily Hall
 Lily Pettifar

 

About Neometals

Neometals has developed and is commercialising three environmentally-friendly
processing technologies that produce critical and strategic battery materials
at lowest quartile costs with minimal carbon footprint.

Through strong industry partnerships, Neometals is demonstrating the economic
and environmental benefits of sustainably producing lithium, nickel, cobalt
and vanadium from lithium-ion battery recycling and steel waste recovery. This
reduces the reliance on traditional mine-based supply chains and creating more
resilient, circular supply to support the energy transition.

The Company's three core business units are exploiting the technologies under
principal, joint venture and licensing business models:

 

·    Lithium-ion Battery ("LiB") Recycling (50% technology) -
Commercialisation via Primobius GmbH JV (NMT 50% equity). All plants built by
Primobius' co-owner (SMS group 50% equity), a 150-year-old German plant
builder. Providing recycling service as principal in Germany and commenced
plant supply and licensing activities as technology partner to Mercedes-Benz.
Primobius targeting first commercial 21,000 tpa plant offer to Canadian
company Stelco in the DecQ 2023;

·     Lithium Chemicals (70% technology) - Commercialising patented ELi™
electrolysis process, co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, to produce
battery quality lithium hydroxide from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at
lowest quartile operating costs. Co-funding Pilot Plant trials in 2023 with
planned Demonstration Plant trials and evaluation studies in 2024 for
potential 25,000tpa LiOH operation in Portugal under a 50:50 JV with related
entity to Bondalti, Portugal's largest chemical company; and

·    Vanadium Recovery (100% technology) - aiming to produce high-purity
vanadium pentoxide from processing of steelmaking by-product ("Slag") at
lowest-quartile operating cost. Targeting partnerships with steel makers and
participants in the vanadium chemical value chain under a low risk / low capex
technology licensing business model.

 

For further information visit www.neometals.com.au
(http://www.neometals.com.au/)

 

 

 1  for full details refer to Neometals ASX announcements titled "Primobius
to enter North America with Stelco for Recycling of Electric Vehicle
Batteries" dated 31(st) December 2021 and "Primobius Commercial Update" dated
6 January 2023

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