Tesla to purchase lithium compounds from Mexican mine
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029164
Ars Technica : On Friday, Tesla announced that it has signed a 5-year deal with Bacanora Minerals Ltd and Rare Earth Minerals Plc to purchase lithium mined in northern Mexico. The deal will require the companies to establish the mine, which has not yet been built, and processing facilities to produce lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. When the mine begins operations, it is expected to produce 35 000 tons of the lithium compounds per year. That amount will eventually expand to 50 000 tons. Once the mine has begun operating, Tesla will purchase the produced lithium at below-market rates for use in its Gigafactory, currently under construction in Nevada. Tesla will be able to contribute to the mining companies’ fundraising for construction of the mine, which they previously estimated would cost $114 million.