Shuttered lithium mine could be switched on in six months as Core Lithium pools $300m for Finniss restart

One of the first lithium mines to call it quits during Australia’s battery minerals glut wants to restart operations as soon as September off the back of a price resurgence and backing from Glencore. Core Lithium’s board has signed off on a final investment decision and has all approvals in place to restart idled the Finniss project in the Northern Territory, the Perth-based miner told investors on Wednesday. Core closed what was the only operating lithium mine outside of WA in January 2024 at the start of a prolonged rout for the battery mineral. In May last year the company was shopping around looking for potential backers for a restart. Market confidence has slowly started to return to the commodity over the past few years, with a tonne of spodumene concentrate now going for about $US2,200 per tonne, per Core’s latest spot price estimates. After crunching unit operating costs down to $762/t, the miner is confident the project is even economical at a far more conservative US$1,500/t. “Today’s approval of the Final Investment Decision and the securing of a fully committed Funding Package is the culmination of 18 months of diligent planning and execution for Core,” managing director Paul Brown said. “The company remains focused on safe, disciplined execution as it advances a staged restart program through 2026 and 2027 with first spodumene concentrate production targeted for the September quarter 2026.” Core has pulled together over $300 million to kick-start the plan. The funding includes a proposed $120 million equity raising and a $99 million convertible note from mining giant Glencore and French private equity firm InfraVia. A a five-year marketing deal with Glencore to sell ore produced from Finniss has also helped underpin the restart. At nameplate capacity Finniss would be producing 214,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year. Shares in Core Lithium have been offered up under the placement at 21¢ per share, a 4.5 per cent discount on its last traded price on the ASX. The stock remains in a trading halt while the raising is undertaken.