LG Chem Secures Lithium from a North American Mining Company

LG Chem announced on Feb. 15 that it signed an offtake agreement Piedmont Lithium Inc., an American mining company, for a total of 200,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate 6 (SC6), a high-purity lithium ore with approximately 6 percent lithium content.

Starting from the third quarter of this year, Piedmont will supply 50,000 metric tons per year of SC6 from a Canadian mine over a four-year term. LG Chem is expected to extract approximately 30,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide, which is equivalent to the amount that goes into 500,000 high-performance electric vehicles.

Piedmont has a 25% stake in the North American Lithium (NAL), a lithium mine in Quebec, Canada. NAL is the only lithium mine in North America capable of commercial production this year. LG Chem plans to use the lithium mined in the region to produce cathode materials supplied to key North American customers.

LG Chem has become the first Korean battery materials company to secure SC6 from North America. By using North American lithium, LG Chem fulfills the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and expects to mitigate the regional concentration of key materials for secondary batteries.

LG Chem also signed an agreement with Piedmont to make an equity investment of US$75 million to secure an approximately 6% stake in the company. LG Chem further stabilized its raw materials supply by obtaining priority negotiation rights for 10,000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year produced by Piedmont Lithium in the U.S.