Compass Minerals announced that Koch Minerals & Trading, LLC has agreed to make a $252 million equity investment in Compass Minerals to support Phase 1 development of its previously identified 2.4 million metric ton (mt) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) Great Salt Lake resource and debt reduction.
“We are pleased to welcome KM&T as our investment partner and look forward to leveraging their deep expertise and proven track record of building value,” said Kevin S. Crutchfield, president and CEO. “Securing funding to aggressively pursue Phase 1 of our lithium growth opportunity has been an important focus for our management team. This strategic investment will help drive our lithium project forward, strengthen our balance sheet and enhance execution capabilities across our entire platform.”
Approximately $200 million of the proceeds from the investment are expected to be used to advance the first phase of the company’s sustainable lithium development project. This figure represents approximately 75% of total Phase 1 funding needs, according to the company’s FEL-1 level project cost estimates, including the full funding required through the calendar year 2024 toward the construction of a commercial scale, direct lithium extraction and lithium conversion plant at the company’s Ogden, Utah, solar evaporation facility. Compass Minerals expects the project’s annual commercial production capacity to ultimately be approximately 35,000 mt LCE, with an initial phase-one capacity of approximately 11,000 mt LCE coming online by 2025.
