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EIB, Finland's Finnvera among funders

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Keliber project targets 2026 production

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Expects 15,000tpa battery-grade lithium output

(Recasts, adds company spokesperson comments)

By Felix Njini and Nelson Banya

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Sibanye Stillwater

said on Thursday it had secured an additional 500

million euros ($557.30 million) debt financing to complete a new

lithium mine in Finland, forging ahead with the project amid a

slump in prices for the battery metal.

The Johannesburg-based precious metals producer said the

loan financing, partly funded by the European Investment Bank

(EIB), will help it bring the Keliber lithium project to

production from 2026.

Sibanye, which mines gold and platinum metals in South

Africa and the U.S., will continue to advance the mine and

processing plant as it sees potential for recovery in lithium

prices, James Wellsted, the spokesperson, said.

"We still have a strong conviction that there is going to be

(lithium supply) deficits in the market and prices are going to

increase," Wellsted told Reuters.

Albemarle, the world's largest lithium producer,

last month said it would slash costs for the second time this

year, embarking on a comprehensive review of its operating

structure due to tumbling prices for the metal used to make

electric vehicle batteries.

A basket of lithium prices tracked by Benchmark Mineral

Intelligence shows they have fallen about 70% over the past year

because of weaker-than-expected global demand for electric

vehicles, due in part to high borrowing costs and global

economic uncertainty.

The Keliber project, in which Finnish Minerals Group owns

minority stake, is expected to produce about 15,000 metric tons

of battery-grade lithium annually for at least 16 years.

While the project could supply European electric vehicle

manufacturers and gigafactories, Sibanye hasn't started selling

the offtake yet, Wellsted said.

Sibanye plans to start processing third-party spodumene

supplies at the Keliber plant in 2025 and concentrates from its

own mine the year after, he added.

Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman said in an earlier statement the

latest financing package will help improve the company's

liquidity, "effectively ring-fencing the existing group

facilities for operational requirements", Froneman added.

Sibanye previously raised about 250 million euros through

equity to finance the project.

($1 = 0.8972 euros)

($1 = 17.9233 rand)