Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) and Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE, OTCQB:LLKKF) are beneficiaries of the S&P Dow Jones Indices June 2022 quarterly rebalance of the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
Core, which is developing one of Australia’s most capital-efficient and lowest-cost spodumene lithium projects, will be added to the index effective prior to the open on June 20, 2022.
Also on that date, clean lithium developer Lake Resources will be added to the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
The S&P/ASX 200 is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in Australia.
It is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
Accelerating Finniss Project development
Core Lithium is developing the Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin Port in the Northern Territory, Australia.
The company has made sweeping progress on developing Finniss, having awarded a crushing contract to CSI Mining Services, almost completed the dense media separation (DMS) plant earthworks and secured five new trucks and an excavator.
CSI will mobilise to the site starting this month, contracted to crush run of mine ore that will then be stockpiled and processed by the DMS plant.
The DMS plant will be used to process the crushed ore into spodumene concentrate, ready for export.
Grants open pit will be the initial source of ore for the DMS plant until the BP33 Underground Mine – among others – can be brought online.
The additional dump trucks and excavator will enable Core to accelerate this first stage of mining at the Grants pit.
Emerging lithium producer
Lake Resources is utilising clean, direct extraction technology for the development of sustainable, high purity lithium from its flagship Kachi Project, as well as three other lithium brine projects in Argentina.
The company’s four projects cover 2,200 square kilometres in a prime location within the Lithium Triangle, where 40% of the world’s lithium is produced at the lowest cost.
Kachi recently caught the eye of one of the world’s most prominent carmakers, Ford, which inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the clean lithium developer to negotiate an offtake deal.
The MoU positions Ford to pick up roughly 25,000 tonnes of lithium every year from Lake’s Kachi asset as part of a strategic collaboration.