Core Lithium has commenced operations on its $89 million Finniss Lithium mine, the only lithium pit in the Territory and the country’s only lithium mine outside Western Australia.

The mine, the first new mine to commence operations in the NT in more than a decade, has started production at a period of high lithium prices, strong global demand, and limited market supply and will supply Tesla and other international buyers.

Company CEO Gareth Manderson said the company is on target to export Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) lithium by the end of the year, after its first sale last week.

“The Core team has done a fantastic job quickly transitioning from discovery and exploration to construction and shortly supply of high-grade lithium concentrate to a global market in just six years,” Mr Manderson said.

The first four years of production from the project were secured with around 80 per cent dealt to offtake partners including Ganfeng Lithium and Sichuan Yahua which gave Core Lithium support during the development phase, as well as a binding Term Sheet with Tesla for four years.

The NT Government issued a statement on the opening, stating that construction on the Cox Peninsula Road site will be completed by the end of the year, with Core expecting “to employ about 300 people, including contractors, over the life of the Finniss operations”.

“Core Lithium has also engaged the Kenbi Rangers, based at Wagait Beach, to deliver a range of services on site, including tree relocation, weed management, cultural heritage monitoring, water controls and silt fencing,” the statement said.

“The Finniss Lithium Project is the Northern Territory’s first lithium mine, and it will provide the globe with high-quality lithium suitable for batteries used to power electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.”

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the “new and exciting” mine would provide “hundreds of world-class mining jobs for residents in the Top End, which will also support local business and create new opportunities for Territorians”.