Mitsui signs MOU with Atlas Lithium for up to 100% of production from Atlas’ planned concentrate plant
19 January 2023
Atlas Lithium Corporation, a US-based mineral exploration company focused on lithium and other battery metals in Brazil, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. with respect to Mitsui’s potential interest in acquiring the right to purchase Atlas Lithium’s future lithium concentrate production. Mitsui is a global enterprise headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with $122.3 billion in assets, $96.4 billion in annual revenues, and 44,336 employees in 63 countries, as of its last reported results.
In general terms, the MOU contemplates potential funding from Mitsui to Atlas Lithium of up to $65 million (offtake funding), in tranches and subject to the achievement of specific milestones acceptable to Mitsui, that would give Mitsui the right to buy up to 100% of Atlas Lithium’s production from its planned plant with output capacity of 150,000 tons of lithium concentrate per year.
The offtake funding would be primarily used by Atlas Lithium for the construction of the plant. Lithium concentrate produced by the plant would then be available for purchase by Mitsui at a price generally based on the then-prevailing market price.
The MOU is non-exclusive for both companies. As part of the MOU, Atlas Lithium and Mitsui will also seek to collaborate in other strategic areas.
Atlas Lithium is advancing and developing its 100%-owned hard-rock lithium project which consists of 52 mineral rights spread over 56,078 acres (227 km2) and is located primarily in the municipality of Araçuaí in the Lithium Valley of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Atlas Lithium also has a separate second lithium project located in Brazil’s Northeast region.
Atlas is currently drilling in the Neves Area, where 20 pegmatite outcrops have been identified thus far. Drilling in some of these targets has yielded intersects of up to 3.26% Li2O; a processing study at SGS-Geosol laboratory showed the ability to concentrate the lithium samples to 6.78% Li2O, a commercial grade.
Atlas’ mineral rights are adjacent to those of Sigma Lithium—the most active lithium explorer in the region with a world-class lithium resource base that currently stands at ~80MT of Li2O contained within four separate deposits.
In total, Atlas Lithium has 100% ownership of mineral rights for almost all battery metals including lithium (293 km2), nickel (222 km2), rare earths (122 km2), titanium (89 km2), and graphite (56 km2), in addition to mining concessions for gold, diamonds, and sand.
The company also owns approximately 45% of Apollo Resources Corp. (iron) and approximately 28% of Jupiter Gold Corp. (gold and quartzite).
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