Tivan (ASX: TVN) has appointed Sydney-based independent corporate advisory firm ICA Natural Resources (ICANR) to advise on project finance for the development of the Speewah fluorite project in Western Australia.

The decision was made jointly with Japan Australia Fluorite Associates (JAFA), a joint venture involving Sumitomo Corporation and the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), a Japanese government agency that supports the country's efforts to secure stable supplies of mineral resources.

Concurrently, Tivan is advancing development planning for the project, including a definitive feasibility study (DFS) scheduled for completion later this year. The operation is intended to be Australia's first mining and processing facility to produce acid grade fluorspar (97% CaF₂).

Acid grade fluorspar is the primary feedstock for hydrofluoric acid, which in turn is used to produce fluorocarbons, fluoropolymers, and aluminum fluoride. It is widely used across the aluminium smelting, steel, chemical, and lithium-ion battery industries. China is currently the world's largest producer of fluorspar, and allied nations including Japan and Australia have been working to diversify critical mineral supply chains.

Executive chairman Grant Wilson said Tivan has made significant progress in securing both equity and debt funding for the planned development.

"Delighted to announce the appointment of ICA Natural Resources on behalf of Japan Australia Fluorite Associates, following an extremely competitive process over the past two months," Mr Wilson said.

"This announcement represents the start of our push to complete the project finance round for the Speewah Fluorite Project, enabling a final investment decision, that will be led by Tivan on behalf of our joint venture."

The Speewah fluorite and vanadium project is located 100km south of the port of Wyndham and 110km south-west of Kununurra, in the Kimberley region of north-east Western Australia. The project also hosts a significant vanadium resource, a mineral used in steel alloys and vanadium redox flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage.

Tivan has binding agreements in place with Sumitomo Corporation and ETFS Capital to provide up to $100 million in equity funding for project development. The company has also received a non-binding and conditional letter of support from Export Finance Australia (EFA) and has progressed to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility's (NAIF) due diligence phase for project financing.

Fluorite, also known as fluorspar, is an essential industrial mineral composed of calcium and fluorine (CaF₂).

TVN shares were up 2.00% to 25.5¢, with a market capitalisation of $567.3M.