Sinomine Resources Group, a leading Chinese supplier of battery-grade lithium fluoride, plans to buy a majority stake in a lithium ore mine in Mongolia to further improve its lithium resources.

Sinomine intends to purchase a 51 percent stake in a lithium ore project in Mongolia’s Tsagan Chuluut region from Lithium Century, the owner of the project’s three shareholders, for USD20 million, the Beijing-based company announced.

The URT project is still in the primary exploration stage, and the exact reserve amount is uncertain, Sinomine added, noting that the prospecting right of the project covers an area of over 332 hectares, and its reserves may exceed 1.7 million tons of lithium ore. The area already explored is only 10.5 percent of the prospecting right scope, the firm pointed out.

After the acquisition, Sinomine will issue a loan of up to USD20 million for the geological exploration of the lithium ore project, it said in the statement.

Established in 2013, Lithium Century is an innovative mining company focused on mineral exploration and development of environmentally sustainable extraction of lithium in central Mongolia.

Sinomine was founded in 1999. It is not only the world’s largest producer and supplier of cesium and rubidium but also a leading supplier of battery-grade lithium fluoride in China, as well as the one and only producer of cesium formate worldwide.