Yibin, under the initial three-year agreement, has agreed to purchase up to 200,000 metric tonnes of SC6 per annum from AVZ following the commencement of production, with the option to extend for an additional two years. AVZ Managing Director Nigel Ferguson said the explorer is pleased to secure the deal. "This agreement takes our SC6 binding off-take commitments to more than 80 per cent of the project's annual SC6 production, which is a massive endorsement for the Manono Project and one that satisfies an important condition precedent for our prospective project financiers," Nigel commented. "At present, we are seeing buoyant market conditions with reported SC6 prices in China increasing around 30 per cent in the first quarter of the year while, during the same time, the London Metal Exchange cash tin price has surged around 30 per cent, boding well for the Manono Project's optimised definitive feasibility study which is due for completion next quarter," the director added.