5E Advanced Materials, an ASX-listed boron and lithium company, announced today the successful commencement of boric acid production by its operations team.
The company, renowned for its US government Critical Infrastructure designation for the 5E Boron Americas Complex, achieved this milestone alongside an amendment to its outstanding senior secured convertible notes, extending the waiver of the notes’ cash covenant.
Susan Brennan, the CEO at 5E Advanced Materials, expressed her satisfaction, stating,“I am pleased that we have achieved first production of boric acid from our Small-Scale Facility (SSF).”
She continued, “I am incredibly proud of our team’s dedication and hard work to achieve another historic milestone.”
With the successful production of the inaugural batch of boric acid, 5E Advanced Materials is poised to further refine its operational parameters to meet and surpass customer specifications.
The company said it anticipates embarking on the customer qualification process, engaging with a diverse range of prospects.
This process will involve providing boric acid samples for validation against customer-established qualification criteria.
Upon receiving positive feedback validating the product’s adherence to specifications, 5E Advanced Materials will proceed to deliver larger volumes of boric acid from the SSF to customer production facilities for validation.
Brennan emphasised the significance of this achievement in bolstering and securing a boron supply chain made in America.
She commended her team for overcoming the challenges inherent in launching a new production process, reaffirming the company’s commitment to building a globally significant presence in the boron market.
“While first production was no easy task, the team delivered through the normal challenges of starting up a new production process, to continue building a globally significant business in the boron market,” Brennan noted.
In addition to the milestone in production, the company also announced an amendment to its outstanding senior secured convertible notes.
This amendment extends the waiver of the existing financial cash covenant from 28 June 2024 to 31 December 2024.
Commencing 31 December 2024, the cash covenant will mandate that the Company maintains a cash balance of at least $7.5 million.
