Sibanye-Stillwater has secured a €500 million (R10 billion) green loan financing facility for its Keliber lithium project in Finland, with the funding earmarked for the construction and development of mining, processing and refining facilities in the European country.
The company is making a big play for renewable and electric energy after it also acquired the Sandouville nickel refinery in France in 2022.
Sibanye-Stillwater is undertaking feasibility studies to determine the viability of producing precursor cathode active material (pCAM), a powder-like substance that contains components such as nickel and cobalt, among others, for the European battery ecosystem after re-purposing the refinery.
Yesterday, Sibanye-Stillwater said it had secured crucial financing for its Keliber lithium project in Finland. Earlier this year, the company recorded a 55.1% increase in attributable lithium mineral resources to 702 000 tons due to the “successful exploration activities” at Keliber.
“The funding package provides cost-effective, long-term funding for the balance of the Keliber project’s funding needs and significantly improves the group liquidity, effectively ring- fencing the existing group facilities for operational requirements confirms the viability and ESG credentials of the Keliber lithium project,” said Neal Froneman, chief executive for Sibanye-Stillwater.
The €500m financing for Keliber, supported by funders that include the European Investment Bank and Finnvera, also underscored the company’s Finnish lithium project’s strategic importance to the European clean energy transition.
The facility’s structure comprises a bank-financed €250m Export Credit Agency (ECA) guaranteed tranche, a €150m tranche provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a €100m syndicated commercial bank tranche.
“The green loan secures the final capital expenditure funding required for the construction and development of its lithium mining, processing and refining facilities in Kaustinen, Kronoby and Kokkola, Finland, respectively,” the company said.
Moreover, Sibanye-Stillwater’s newest green loan represents “a significant injection of capital” for the company, improving its financial flexibility and liquidity, while also ensuring available cash and debt facilities for the group “are ring-fenced for operational and corporate” requirements.
Matti Hietanen, chief executive of Finnish Minerals Group, said Keliber had already “already taken determined steps forward with the construction of the refinery and mining” sites.
“We see the Keliber lithium project as an integral part of the Finnish battery value chain and at the same time as the first integrated lithium project in Europe. The financing solution that has now been secured enables the construction phase to be completed and the production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide to begin,” said Hietanen.
Finnish State-owned Finnvera provided a guarantee covering 80% of the €250m tranche. This funding is in alignment with the financier’s strategic aim of strengthening the operating potential and competitiveness of Finnish enterprises by providing loans, domestic guarantees, as well as export credit guarantees.
As it pursues the Keliber lithium project, Sibanye-Stillwater is looking forward to positive outcomes from definitive feasibility studies at Sandouville that will ultimately enable a final investment decision on the repurposing of the refinery to pCAM production.
“To date, the outlook for the GalliCam project is encouraging,” said the company this week.
In order to address the Sandouville refinery’s projected losses and to prepare it for potential production of pCAM, Sibanye-Stillwater said it had reached an agreement to terminate a key commercial supply contract with supply culminating on or before December 31, 2024.
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