Owner of 60% of the Congolese Manono project, the world’s largest known lithium reserve, Australian junior company AVZ Minerals announced the signing of a new financing agreement with its Chinese partner, Yibin Tianyi, on Monday May 4. In exchange for a 9% stake in AVZ’s capital, the Middle Kingdom group will invest AUD10.6 million ($6.83 million) through a private placement. Apart from the repayment of a previous financial commitment, the Australian company stated that these funds will be used primarily to start the initial work on the mining project and to build up the necessary reserves for working capital. Published in April, the final feasibility study for the Manono project estimates that the site could produce up to 700,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year and 45,375 tonnes of primary lithium sulphates over a 20-year mine life.