Infinity Lithium Corporation says recent meetings held with newly-elected regional political leaders have emphasised and reinforced the continued collaboration driving the advancement of its San José lithium project in Spain.
The project sits near the town of Cáceres in the region of Extremadura and boasts one of Europe's leading JORC-compliant hard-rock lithium deposits, with a total indicated and inferred resource base of 111 million tonnes at 0.61 per cent lithium oxide.
Infinity says finalising the regional government coalition has resulted in alignment across local and regional governments that are supportive of lithium mining and processing in Extremadura.
The newly-formed Regional Government of Extremadura parties announced an agreement immediately following the finalisation of the governing regional coalition and highlighted the critical importance and commitment to resource and industrial projects in the local area.
According to the agreement, the coalition will “… promote in regional, national and European bodies the exploration and exploitation of our own resources, as a way to reduce dependence on the outside world and strengthen energy and industrial sovereignty”. The coalition agreement also states that it “will protect energy and industrial assets threatened for ideological reasons”.
Infinity Lithium Corporation managing director and chief executive officer Ryan Parkin said: “The agreement between the parties in Extremadura has once again highlighted the critical importance of San José for the local community, and Europe, against the backdrop of increasing requirements for volumes of battery grade lithium chemicals to meet targets set under the Critical Raw Materials Act. It is clear San José’s potential to provide meaningful and long-term supply can align generation opportunities for the local community and greater Extremadura region.”
San José was originally intended to be an open-pit mine. However, after consultation with regional authorities, the project has been redesigned as an underground mining operation with a nearby processing hub. The company says the underground deposit will be accessed through a tunnel at the beneficiation plant and will deliver no visual, audible or vibration-based effects to the people of Cáceres.
Infinity’s plan is for its resource to feed its proposed fully-integrated industrial project to produce battery-grade lithium chemicals for the European battery industry. A 2021 scoping study estimated steady-state production on site, averaging 19,500 tonnes per annum of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in a 26-year period.
Production from the project would provide an essential component in the European Union’s development of a vertically-integrated lithium-ion battery supply chain. The availability of critical raw materials and local production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide is essential to ensure the transition of the EU auto industry to electric vehicles.
Infinity says it is also looking into dual listing on one of Spain’s biggest and most internationally-oriented stock exchanges, the Bolsa de Madrid, and will update the ASX in due course on the finalisation of corporate advisors to assist in the process.
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By Michael Philipps
