(Yicai Global) June 13 -- Ganfeng Lithium Group, a major Chinese supplier of lithium battery materials, said its Cauchari-Olaroz salt lake project in Argentina became operational on June 10 following a delay of about three years.

The project, located in Jujuy province, is Ganfeng Lithium's first to come on stream in Argentina and will produce battery-grade lithium carbonate, hiking capacity and optimizing production lines, the Xinyu-based firm said late yesterday.

The Cauchari-Olaroz project has total reserves of 24.6 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent and it is one of the world's largest lithium extraction projects from a salt lake. Its first stage was designed with an annual capacity of 40,000 tons of LCE and the second stage with at least 20,000 tons of LCE.

Ganfeng Lithium said yesterday that it was not sure when the project would reach its designated capacity and what its yield would be.

The firm acquired 38 percent of Minera Exar, the project’s owner, for USD60.3 million in August 2018, before raising its investment to USD180 million for a 51 percent stake. 

The project's first production stage, with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons of LCE, was planned to become operational in 2020. In May 2021, Ganfeng Lithium said it had rescheduled the date to the middle of last year. But according to its 2022 earnings report, it postponed the start of operations again to the first half of this year.

The delays were due to a worker shortage in Argentina and a delay in customs clearance for devices and spare parts because of the South American country's new import policies, Ganfeng Lithium said.

Ganfeng Lithium's investment in the construction of the Cauchari-Olaroz project totaled CNY4.9 billion (USD684.6 million) as of the end of last year, exceeding the planned CNY4.7 billion, its earnings report showed. The project's budget was also increased to CNY5.9 billion.

Shares of Ganfeng Lithium [SHA: 002460] rose 0.2 percent to close at CNY63.21 (USD8.84) apiece today. The stock has fallen 9 percent this year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev