Standard Lithium JV gets $1.1bn in funding interest for Arkansas project
Smackover Lithium, a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor, said on Tuesday it had attracted more than $1-billion in financing interest for its Arkansas lithium project.
Three export credit agencies, including the US Export-Import Bank (ExIm) and Export Finance Norway, have expressed an interest in providing debt financing for the project, the companies said. They did not provide the name of the third.
Reuters reported last month that the project was in final talks with several banks and governments for $1-billion in funding.
U.S.-listed shares of Standard Lithium rose 3% in morning trade.
The joint venture is seeking up to $1.1-billion in senior secured debt to cover most of the $1.45 billion cost of building the first phase of the project, which has support from several members of Congress and the Trump administration.
The financing would include loans and guarantees from the export credit agencies, as well as additional debt from commercial banks.
Arkansas sits atop the Smackover, an underground geological formation stretching from Florida to Texas filled with salty brines containing more than five-million metric tons of lithium, according to the US Geological Survey.
The project would require still-unproven direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to be successful.
Earlier this year, Standard Lithium received a $225 million grant from the US Department of Energy, giving the company a boost as it competes with Exxon Mobil to become the first lithium producer in Arkansas, which holds one of North America's largest deposits of the battery metal.
Formed in May 2024, the joint venture is developing several direct lithium extraction projects in southwest Arkansas and east Texas, with Standard Lithium owning 55% and operating the projects and Equinor holding the remaining 45%.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
















