The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is having a strong session on Thursday.
In morning trade, the lithium miner's shares are up 5% to $1.07.
Why is the Core Lithium share price rising today?
There have been a couple of things giving the Core Lithium share price a boost this morning.
The first is news that Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) has agreed to merge with fellow miner Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) to form a $15.7 billion lithium juggernaut.
This appears to have sparked hopes that more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities could be in the works that unlock value in other lithium shares. Though, it is worth noting that a couple of analysts believe Core Lithium is unlikely to be a takeover or merger target on valuation grounds.
What else is happening?
Also lifting the Core Lithium share price is likely to be the release of an announcement this morning.
That announcement reveals that the company's first spodumene concentrate shipment is underway at the Darwin Port and that the Northern Territory Government has granted the mining authorisation and approved the Mine Management Plan (MMP) for the BP33 underground project.
In respect to the former, a shipment of approximately 5,500 tonnes of on-specification 5.6% Li2O spodumene concentrate is on its way to long-term customer Sichuan Yahua. This relates to previously announced sale agreements.
As for the latter, the company notes that the Northern Territory Government granting the mining authorisation and MMP is the final step in the approvals process for BP33 ahead of a potential investment decision.
BP33, which would be the second proposed mine at the Finniss Project, is located within trucking distance of the Grants open pit, crusher and DMS plant. It currently has a mineral resource of 10.1Mt @ 1.48% Li2O.
Core Lithium Chief Executive Officer, Gareth Manderson, said:
Core Lithium would like to acknowledge the support of the Government of the Northern Territory. We have been able to commence operations at Finniss in a favourable market when it can deliver benefits for the NT and all its stakeholders due to the professional and efficient processes for approvals. The BP33 development approval is another example of this.
The first export of Finniss' spodumene concentrate was delivered safely to port ahead of schedule. This is a significant milestone for the Core business, our shareholders and the Finniss Lithium Operation. With the resumption of full mining activities at Grants, we were also able to produce, transport and load an additional 2,000 tonnes onto the St Andrew as part of our sales agreements with Yahua. Our focus now is to safely complete commissioning of the Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant at Finniss and ramp up our integrated operation.
