Prima Materia
矿山、选矿厂与化工精炼厂一体化，将美国锂辉石加工至电池级锂产品。
Applied America 与发起方共同开发 Prima Materia：汇集资本，并推动项目完成建设、投入运营。
施工中美国 · 厂址未披露关键矿产 · 锂
- 一期投资
- $350M
- 预计收入
- $385M
- 直接及带动就业
- ≈ 2,990
Investment and employment figures are sponsor-stated project plans; revenue is a modelled projection. Figures are not audited.
概览与市场论点
Lithium is the binding input in every battery chemistry now being built at scale, and the United States converts almost none of its own. Prima Materia puts an open-pit hard-rock mine, a concentrator and a chemical refinery on one site: spodumene is mined, concentrated and converted to battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate — 25,000 tonnes a year of lithium-carbonate equivalent, for twenty-five years.
It is further along than anything else in this portfolio. The resource and reserve are signed off under S-K 1300 — 57 Mt at 1.25% Li₂O against a 31 Mt reserve — all fourteen primary permits are granted with no appeals, and the final investment decision was taken in January 2026. The plant is 44% built, 62% of the $350M Phase 1 capital is committed under fixed-price contracts, and first product is scheduled for July 2028.
Demand is contracted rather than forecast. 80% of Phase 1 volume sits under binding offtake with battery-materials makers in Korea and Europe, 60% of it with price floors, and pilot product met 21 of 21 specifications and cleared the first qualification stage with all three customers testing it.
The project is built to survive the price rather than to depend on it. Debt is sized against an $11,000/t banking case and covered 1.6 times in every year of it; at $9,000/t — below the 2025 trough — the operation still covers operating and sustaining cost. 78% of process water is recycled against a licence 25% above demand, tailings are dry-stacked to GISTM, a $28M closure bond is lodged, and rehabilitation begins in Year 4 with the site returning to grazing and conservation use.
投资逻辑、风险与政策
- S-K 1300 reserve signed off; all fourteen primary permits granted, no appeals
- 44% built, with 62% of Phase 1 capital committed under fixed-price contracts
- 80% of Phase 1 volume under binding offtake, 60% of it with price floors
- Pilot product met 21 of 21 specifications with all three qualifying customers
- Lithium price below the banking caseDebt sized at $11,000/t and covered 1.6× in every year of it; floors on 60% of contracted volume
- A multi-year price troughAt $9,000/t the operation still covers operating and sustaining cost; a $62M cure package bridges two years
- Customer qualification slipping past first productStage A passed by three of three customers; Stage B lots drawn from pilot stock in 2027
- The uncommitted balance of Phase 1 capital62% committed at fixed price; the remainder releases against milestones, an independent engineer and a model audit
- §45X Advanced Manufacturing Production CreditPer-unit credit for domestic critical-mineral and battery-material production
- State grants and a repayable state loan$14M of grants secured; a $20M loan in review, released against milestones with clawbacks
- Industrial revenue bond inducementConduit financing sought alongside a state technical-college training partnership
Program eligibility, availability, and terms vary by siting and are subject to confirmation with the responsible authority.
The refinery half of the lithium chain is where the margin and the dependency both sit, and it is the half the United States does not have. Permitting support, the operator school and the state loan are what keep conversion on the same site as the mine rather than shipping concentrate offshore for someone else to finish.
- 70% local hire by Year 3 through an operator school with the state technical college
- Tribal cooperation agreement signed August 2025 — 0.5% royalty share, 8% employment target, scholarships
- Average operating wage of $85,000; a $28M closure bond lodged and rehabilitation from Year 4
- 1Introductory call and mutual NDA.
- 2Access to the full data room, model, and feasibility materials.
- 3Structured term discussion — milestones, clawbacks, and community-benefit terms built in.
运营计划与资本部署
Operational Plan
Indicative programme · 2026–2027Capital Plan
Indicative allocation · pending feasibility财务、影响与回报
Illustrative model The economic-impact, credit and valuation metrics below are derived from the sponsor’s stated investment and jobs and the modelled revenue, using research-informed assumptions and the sources listed at the foot of this briefing. They are planning illustrations, not guarantees.
Economic & fiscal impact
Capital structure & credit
Illustrative valuation & returns
- Strategic acquisition50%8× EBITDA
- IPO30%2.5× revenue
- Sponsor sale20%7× EBITDA
Revenue ramp to stabilization
Illustrative ramp from commissioning to stabilized annual revenue of $385M. Actual profile depends on construction, offtake, and market conditions.
Against the portfolio
- Orion Standard$1.44B
- Helix Build$500M
- Aurofirm$400M
- Terraform America$375M
- The Saint Plaza$350M
- Prima Materia$350M
- Aurela Village$300M
- Circuit Talos$250M
- Nereus Aquaculture$100M
Planned capital for each of the 9 initiatives, as its brief states it — the first phase only, where the build is phased. This initiative is highlighted.
Sources & references
- USGS — Lithium commodity summary
- U.S. DOE — Critical Materials
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — QCEW (wages & employment)
- U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns
- IMPLAN — economic impact methodology
External links open third-party sites provided for reference only; inclusion implies no endorsement. Figures should be verified against primary sources and confirmed by feasibility study.
Illustrative model Sources & uses, sensitivity, and comparable multiples are derived from the base-case assumptions and sector benchmarks for demonstration; they are not guarantees and are subject to diligence and feasibility.
| Metric | Downside | Base | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levered IRR | 17% | 24% | 29% |
| MOIC | 2.4× | 3.0× | 3.5× |
| Min DSCR | 1.40× | 1.60× | 1.85× |
Downside / upside bracket the base case for demonstration; actual ranges depend on price, offtake, cost, and schedule.
- Integrated lithium producers & converters7–9× EV/EBITDA
- Battery materials & specialty chemicals8–11× EV/EBITDA
- This platform — modeled8× EV/EBITDA
Sector ranges are illustrative reference benchmarks, not specific transactions.