VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lithium Americas Corp. LAK LAK (“Lithium America“ or the “company“) has reported financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022 (“Q3 2022“).
HIGHLIGHTS
Argentina
Caucharí-Olaroz
- Construction continues to progress towards production, with key areas of the processing facility being commissioned in late Q3 2022.
- With construction nearing completion, the focus remains on prioritizing production volume over product quality during ramp-up.
- As previously announced in July 2022, construction of part of the purification process to achieve battery quality has been postponed to the first half of 2023.
- The Company expects to provide an update and guidance on the ramp-up timeline towards the end of 2022.
- Mainly due to the low official Argentine exchange rate and high local inflation, estimates of the cost of capital at the official exchange rate have been revised to US$852 million (on a 100% basis), a 15% increase from US$741 million previously ; However, due to the significantly more favorable available market-based exchange rate and the optimized production schedule, the Company expects that its overall funding needs for Phase 1 will not change materially.
- As of September 30, 2022, 85% of the budget has been spent, with a significant portion being postponed to 2023 to complete the cleaning process.
- As of September 30, 2022, the Company had a capital cost of US$63 million (49% share) at the official Argentine exchange rate, which required financing of an estimated US$31 million based on the most recent market-based exchange rate.
- Development planning for the expansion of Stage 2 by at least 20,000 tonnes per year lithium carbonate equivalent continues to move forward to align with the completion of Stage 1.
- In the second quarter of 2022, the seven local communities surrounding the project agreed to the proposed expansion.
- In the second quarter of 2022, the seven local communities surrounding the project agreed to the proposed expansion.
Large impasto
- The Company continues to advance the $30 million Pastos Grandes development plan,…
