The first shipment of direct shipping ore (DSO) was reported from Core Lithium’s Finniss project in Northern Territory, Australia. 

Core Lithium announced the shipment of 15,000t DSO from Darwin port destined for a consumer in Fangcheng, China, with a unit value of US$951/t.  The shipment represents the first saleable production from the Finniss project, though represents only a first stepping stone towards the eventual shipment of spodumene concentrates.  Grades of shipped DSO material are reported to be 1.4% Li2O, indicating a contained lithium content of 0.52kt LCE for the initial shipment.  

The shipment of DSO material represents a key opportunity for Core Lithium not only to generate revenue and support further development of the Finniss operation but also to test the transportation and export process for later spodumene concentrate shipments.  High lithium prices have incentivised several other developers to evaluate the shipment of DSO and capitalise on early revenue, with Atlantic Lithium in Ghana and Leo Lithium in Mali also targeting DSO shipments in 2023. 

While shipments of DSO allow potential access to early revenue for lithium hard rock projects with amenable ore types, the impact on improving lithium supply availability to the wider market is dependent upon customers having the necessary infrastructure and capacity to convert DSO to spodumene mineral concentrates and potentially further downstream lithium products.