The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price has been a positive performer on Tuesday.
In afternoon trade, the lithium developer's shares are up 4% to $1.23.
Why is the Core Lithium share price pushing higher?
There have been a couple of catalysts for the rise is in the Core Lithium share price today.
The first has been a positive day of trade in the materials sector. This has seen the S&P/ASX 200 Materials index rise 1% on Tuesday, well ahead of the ASX 200's gain of 0.25%.
In addition, the Core Lithium share price has been given a lift from the release of a project development update.
That update reveals that its Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin in the Northern Territory remains on track to commence production by the end of the year.
This follows a series of developments in recent weeks, which include the granting of an environment approval, the award of a crushing contract, and the near completion of earthworks for the Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant. The latter will process the crushed ore to make spodumene concentrate for export once constructed.
Management commentary
Core Lithium's Managing Director, Stephen Biggins, appears pleased with the progress the company is making.
He said:
The grant of the environmental approval for the BP33 Underground Mine and the award of the crushing contract to CSI have been significant achievements for Core, underpinning both an on-schedule construction timeframe and a pathway to expanded production life of the Finniss Project.
The recent completion of earthworks and handover of part of the site to Primero will allow construction of the DMS plant to commence, which will be a major milestone in itself.
Core staff and contractors have done a great job getting the site ready for CSI and Primero and with the new mining equipment on site we are in a position to significantly ramp up activities at Finniss.
