France to invest 50M euros for stake in Imerys lithium project
France will invest 50 million euros ($59.61 million) in a minority stake in Imerys’ lithium mine project, and could be joined by other investors in the country’s flagship project for the battery metal, Imerys said.
The minerals group first announced the Emili project in 2022, with the aim of producing 34,000 tonnes annually of lithium hydroxide that could cover the lithium requirements for some 700,000 electric vehicles annually.
The French state’s investment will help cover feasibility studies before a final investment decision on the mine, currently projected to enter production in 2030, Imerys said on Wednesday.
The company expects to bring in more investors to finance the lithium project, CEO Alessandro Dazza told reporters.
It would not necessarily maintain a majority stake but would see itself as the logical choice to operate the future site, he said.
Project cost raised
Imerys increased its forecast of the total cost of the project to 1.8 billion euros from 1 billion initially, though Dazza said he expected the final amount to be “significantly” below the current estimate.
The Emili project involves developing an underground mine beneath an existing kaolin mine in central France, along with a processing facility.
Imerys had said in late October that it was in exclusive talks with a potential investor to sell a minority stake in the project.
The timeline for the start of production was pushed back last year to 2030 from 2028, partly due to public debate over the project’s environmental impact.