Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp. has agreed to invest in Orocobre Ltd’s lithium-potash project in northern Argentina in a bid to secure supplies of low-cost lithium for its partners in the Asian electronics and automotive industries.
Toyota Tsusho will provide $4.5m. to fund the remainder of a definitive feasibility study and has also agreed to acquire a 25% stake in the project following the study’s completion.
The trading house will also be responsible for securing a Japanese government-guaranteed low cost debt facility for at least 60% of the project’s development costs.
Orocobre expects the facility...