Australian mining company Piedmont Lithium announced on Monday that it has signed a five-year supply deal with Tesla. Under the terms of the two companies’ agreement, Piedmont will supply its 160,000-ton-ton-year concentrated product from its North Carolina mines to the American electric car manufacturer.

Inside Press announcement, While Piedmont noted that while the initial contract with Tesla is set for five years, both companies have the option to extend the contract for another five years. The Australian Australian Mining Company added that the initial agreement with Tesla represented about one-third of its North Carolina mine’s annual production of about 160,000 tons, with more lithium to be delivered to Tesla if needed.

Delivery of Tesla’s Lithium could begin between July 2022 and July 2023, depending on Tesla and Piedmont’s development schedule. In a statement, Keith Phillips, president and chief executive officer Piedmont Lithium, Expressed excitement about the Tesla deal. Philips also noted that Pidmont would accelerate its mining development to support Tesla’s plans.

“We are excited to work with Tesla, which marks the beginning of the US domestic lithium supply chain and the disruption of the current value chain. The agreement highlights the strategic importance of Piedmont’s unique American spodumin deposit and confirms the trend toward spodumin as a preferred feedstock for lithium hydroxide required in high-nickel batteries.

“We will now accelerate mine / centralized growth to support Tesla’s plans, expand our mineral resources, and potentially increase our planned annual spodumin-centric production capacity. “Together we will pursue plans to produce lithium hydroxide in North Carolina, using locally produced spodumin concentrates as well as materials sourced from other manufacturers around the world,” Phillips said.

The Tesla deal seems to have been praised by shares of the Australian miners. Following its announcement, shares of Pidmont Lithium Experienced an increase of 83%.

Tesla’s battery cell manufacturing initiative has attracted the attention of the electric vehicle sector. During the company’s Battery Day event, Tesla outlined its cell production program, which includes a ground-up redesign of the batteries used for the company’s vehicles and energy storage products. The result of Tesla’s efforts was the Roadrunner Cell, j Adopts 4680 form factor, Allows the volume of 2170 cells used in Model 3 and Model Y to be kept 5x.

But for Tesla to achieve its battery production goals, it will have to seal deals with companies such as Piedmont Lithium, which could supply the electric car manufacturer with the materials needed to produce battery cells. Previous reports have indicated that the company is already preparing to secure partners for its battery production push. With the exception of Piedmont Lithium, for example, reports have indicated that there is a Tesla In negotiations with Canadian mining company Giga Metals About the development of a low-carbon nickel mine, which will also be built in North America.

Pedmont Lithium’s press list can be accessed below.

Piedmont Lithium Deal By Simon Alvarez On scribe