The Ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR) share price is in positive territory during early afternoon trade. This comes after the emerging lithium-boron company announced a contract award for its wholly-owned Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project.
At the time of writing, Ioneer shares are up 2.50% to an intraday high of 41 cents.
Ioneer progresses project development
Investors appear pleased with the company's latest update, sending Ioneer shares slightly higher.
In today's statement, Ioneer advised it has awarded FLSmidth a major engineering and equipment supply contract at Rhyolite Ridge.
Established in 1882, FLSmidth is a multinational engineering company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The firm provides innovative engineering, equipment and service solutions to the global mining and cement industries. FLSmidth has over 10,700 employees operating in over 60 countries.
Ioneer stated that the contract was granted on a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) basis. This means that the supply of the equipment packages is conditional on a Final Investment Decision (FID).
Under the contract, FLSmidth will supply the majority of crushing and material handling equipment, including rotary lithium-carbonate and boric-acid dryers.
Ioneer highlighted that the latest developments represent a major step towards the construction of Rhyolite Ridge.
In addition, FLSmidth has engaged with Denmark's Export Credit Agency (EKF) regarding potential financing options.
Ioneer managing director, Bernard Rowe welcomed the partnership, saying:
The contract with FLSmidth is one of the more significant supply packages we will award at Rhyolite Ridge and represents another step in the development of the Project.
FLSmidth is focused on providing environmentally sound engineering and technology solutions. This aligns with Ioneer's ambition to not only produce materials necessary for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure, but to do so in an efficient and environmentally responsible manner through lowered emissions, significantly reduced water usage and a small surface footprint.
FLSmidth mining president, Mikko Keto went on to add:
We are delighted to win this engineering order and we look forward to working with Ioneer as it progresses development of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project. This contract provides clear recognition of our experience, know-how, and world class technologies for processing lithium…
Ioneer share price summary
Over the last 12 months, Ioneer shares have risen by more than 220%, and are up almost 50% in 2021. The company's share price reached a 52-week high of 49 cents in mid-February, before going on a gradual decline.
At today's price, Ioneer has a market capitalisation of roughly $780 million, and approximately 1.9 million shares on issue.
