Suvo doubles major Chinese kaolin offtake agreement

Suvo Strategic Minerals has locked away a game-changing five-year renewal of its key hydrous kaolin offtake agreement with Chaozhou Chengcheng Industrial Co, doubling sales to the Chinese industrial powerhouse.

The take-or-pay agreement, valued at $6.56 million before delivery costs, has increased volumes from 4275 tonnes of the company’s hydrous kaolin in the previous three-year agreement to 8750t under the new deal. 

The commercial terms remain unchanged and set the stage for major production growth at Suvo’s Pittong kaolin operations in Victoria. 

Chaozhou Chengcheng is a Chinese distributor of Suvo’s products and one of the company’s biggest clients. The increased demand has come from an improved marketing and understanding of Suvo’s high-quality products in China.

Suvo Strategic Minerals executive chairman Aaron Banks said: “The increase in demand from one of our major customers just last month and now another positive step forward with this agreement, we anticipate significant growth in sales volumes in 2025.”

The refreshed contract has come hot on the heels of a three-year extension to another offtake agreement - including a 30 per cent volume increase to 24,000t - with Norwegian paper and pulp major Norske Skog, another significant Suvo client. 

Norske is a leading producer of publication paper, including newsprint and magazine paper, packaging and with mills across Europe and Australia.

With the company having recently completed an upgrade to its Pittong plant, now capable of handling 60,000t a year, the enlarged orders from existing clients have come at a handy moment for Suvo. 

The facility is currently running at 50pc capacity at about 30,000t per annum so any increase in production is going to play into Suvo’s hands as economies of sales start to kick in. 

The volume growth will also allow the company to spend more on excavating its high-grade product, thereby reducing the need for cheap, lower quality kaolin clay in the final mix.

Quality hydrous kaolin is a key ingredient in manufacturing industries such as paper, coatings, rubber, pharmaceuticals and high-tech ceramics and is in high demand. 

Suvo produces four separate products to meet specific customer needs delivered as moisture lump, high solids slurry, moisture powder or moisture pulverised powder.

The solids slurry is used in paper and board manufacturing, while the other products are used in paper, coatings, paint and specialist industries, including rubber and pharmaceutical applications.

The growing global demand for specialty minerals, coupled with Suvo’s ability to scale production at its Pittong mine, highlights the strategic significance of this deal.

With the increased need for ever more specialised end products, management says the company is also working on other product development opportunities to help grow the sales. 

In addition to strengthening its kaolin supply agreements, Suvo is also pushing on with plans for a cutting-edge, low carbon geopolymer concrete product. 

The company holds an exclusive licence from Murdoch University which enables the production of high-performance, low-carbon concrete - an alternative to conventional ordinary Portland cement to create a lower-carbon alternative.

The extension of this major offtake agreement, the second such deal in a month, seems to suggest that Suvo is starting to build brand recognition in the market for its products. 

With an operational EBITDA of $0.51m in the December quarter and accelerating sales growth likely to turn to higher profits - as the hard graft of marketing starts to pay off - Suvo appears to be on the cusp of a company-defining year.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au