has been the golden ticket for Australian battery minerals producers over the past few years, but Gareth Manderson did not have stars in his eyes when Elon Musk’s electric car company came shopping for lithium.
Core now has contracts to sell its lithium to less famous consumers such as Chinese industrial company Sichuan Yahua.with Tesla, the terms offered by the world’s pre-eminent electric vehicle brand are rarely the most generous in the market, according to multiple boardroom sources in the Australian mining industry.
Those perceptions were partly built on truth. Core swiftly developed a small mine called Grants about 90 kilometres south of Darwin port. It was initially expected to have a lifespan of about four years, although that has since been extended to about seven.The first delivery of Core’s lithium-rich spodumene concentrate from Grants reached Darwin port early this month, and payment is expected before the end of the month, meaning the company has started selling lithium while prices remain high.
“Not a bad base to start with,” says Manderson, who spent two decades with Rio Tinto before joining Core. Macquarie analysts are less concerned on that point; they predict Core will generate $162 million of free cash flow in the year to June 2024 after accounting for spending on new mines.