American Pacific Borate & Lithium Ltd. unit Fort Cady California Corp. entered into a nonbinding strategic cooperation agreement with a unit of Chinese state-owned enterprise Sinochem Group.
The parties also intend to enter into a binding off-take deal for up to 40,000 tonnes of boric acid per annum from the American Pacific's phase-one production of 82,000 tonnes per annum from the Fort Cady project in Southern California.
Sinochem Hebei Corp. will also help the company maximize sales of its product to Chinese customers, according to a May 29 release.
A scoping study on the Fort Cady project estimated a posttax, unlevered net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$687.9 million and a 39% internal rate of return.
