Zinnwald Lithium PLC (LSE:ZNWD, OTC:ZNWLF) earlier this week announced results from its Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the Zinnwald Lithium Project in Saxony, Germany.
The company said the study outlines a large-scale, long-life operation capable of producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide for the European market.
It is located around 35 kilometres south of Dresden and is expected to play a strategic role in the EU's domestic battery supply chain.
Chief executive Anton du Plessis joined the Proactive studio to tell us more.
Here, we take a closer look at what was said.
Proactive: Joining me is Zinnwald Lithium chief executive Anton du Plessis.
Anton, very good to speak with you. You're out with the pre-feasibility study for your Zinnwald Lithium project in Germany, and very positive news.
Followed up by today's announcement that it has the backing of Saxony’s government. So a strong endorsement to start with. Take us through the highlights of the PFS.
Anton du Plessis: Sure. So, just to give a little bit of history - the project’s located in East Germany, about 35 km south of Dresden, very much in the heart of Germany and the EU.
As you say, we published our PFS on Monday. It showed an economic project of significant scale, a phased project producing 18,000 tonnes per annum of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in the first phase, scaling to a potential high of 35,000 tonnes in the second phase.
I would argue it's a globally significant project in terms of scale. It’s also very long life.
This comes on the back of our Mineral Resource Update published in June last year.
That estimate showed this is a very significant, homogenous, large-scale deposit susceptible to large-scale mining.
That’s been proven out in the PFS.
One of the largest hard rock lithium resources in the EU, and now demonstrated to have the potential to become one of the largest producers of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in the EU.
Proactive: And a very profitable producer by the looks of it?
Anton du Plessis: Yes. A lot of work’s gone into optimizing this to keep our mix at a reasonable level, and the economics speak for themselves, post-tax IRR around 20%, post-tax NPV around €2.2 billion.
So a very meaningful project, both for us and for the region where we’re located.
Proactive: As you said, it's the heart of Germany, the heart of the European Union.
So very well positioned as countries and governments push for more domestic supply chains?
Anton du Plessis: Yes. That’s something increasingly in focus.
First, the Covid pandemic disrupted global supply chains. Then the war in Ukraine caused more disruption.
Now we’re seeing tariff wars and other geopolitical shifts.
All of this highlights the need for regions like the EU, with major industries reliant on raw materials, to have a secure domestic supply.
And when you look at what makes a strategic asset — scale, scalability, and deliverability in the region — I think the PFS shows all of those.
Proactive: Of course, you aim to become a leading supplier to Europe's battery industry.
I suppose you now have an endorsement from the Saxony government?
Anton du Plessis: Absolutely. The host region for any project is critical to making it a reality.
You have to bring all participants along: local government, local communities, and so on.
Saxony is the relevant authority in terms of permitting and approval.
To have public endorsement, as we had, is extremely important to us.
We are an important potential project for the region, and that has been recognized. It gives us a lot of confidence as we take the project to the next level.
Proactive: What is the next level, Anton? Take us through the next steps for the project.
Anton du Plessis: Sure. A PFS allows you to take an extremely complex project and put enough detail around it to understand all the constraints, trade-offs, and optimization opportunities.
Where there are deficits of information, you identify them. That’s the body of work the PFS represents.
The next step is looking at it and asking, is this optimal in every aspect? Of course not.
So we need to work out how we can optimize it, reduce costs, improve the project, and lessen local community impact.
That work will culminate in the next level of study, a Definitive Feasibility Study, which we’re working to deliver during 2026.
Proactive: Anton, I hope you'll keep us posted on any progress.