The Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT) share price is up 3.3% at the time of writing after earlier slipping into the red.
Neometals shares closed yesterday at 92 cents apiece and are currently trading for 95 cents.
This comes after the company updated the market on its lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling activities.
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What's happening with the lithium-ion battery recycling?
Primobius GmbH is a joint venture (JV) company – owned 50:50 by Neometals and SMS group GmbH – focused on LIB recycling via a commercial disposal facility in Hilchenbach, Germany.
Today, the Neometals share price is gaining after the company reported on why the completion of Primobius' internal engineering and cost study (ECS) will be delayed.
Neometals said the ECS will now be delivered in two parts, aligned to Primobius' staged commercial rollout plan – an individual shredding plant (Spoke ECS) and a hydrometallurgical refining plant (Hub ECS). The Spoke ECS will now be completed in July and the Hub ECS is expected in the December quarter.
The delays are said to be due to Primobius' focus on the ramp-up of its Hilchenbach Spoke operation along with engineering obligations associated with its Mercedes/LICULAR and Stelco agreements.
Commenting on the new ECS delivery schedule, Neometals' managing director Chris Reed said:
Primobius' commercial success in securing partners and customers has necessitated the decoupling of the previous integrated model to a two-part 'spoke and hub' approach, to enable timely delivery of plant supply contracts to meet LICULAR and Stelco's requirements.
Near-term investment decisions will now be based on more accurate and detailed engineering and cost studies and actual equipment supply contracts from SMS group. This staged rollout addresses the immediate need for safe disposal and recovery of key LIB materials, ahead of truly closing the loop with integrated hydrometallurgical refining.
Neometals share price snapshot
The Neometals share price has come under pressure in 2022, down 43% since the opening bell on 4 January. That compares to a year-to-date loss of 14% posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).
Despite the struggles over the past six months, Neometals shares remain up 82% over the past 12 months.
