Australia's Core Lithium said on Monday that China's Ganfeng Lithium would buy spodumene concentrate from its Finniss project in the Northern Territory for four years.

Ganfeng, the world's biggest lithium company by market capitalisation, will buy 300,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate from the project, and will also invest A$34 million ($25.00 million) into Core at 33.8 Australian cents per share, a 6% discount to its last close.

Lithium miners are set to benefit from soaring prices of the metal used as raw material in electric vehicle batteries, amid the global push towards greener modes of transportation to reduce emissions. 

Combined with an existing supply deal with its largest shareholder Sichuan Yahua , about 80% of Finniss' first stage production is contracted over the first four years of mine life, Core said.

It would finish constructing the project in the second half of 2021 and would start production in late 2022, Core added. The lithium explorer had previously said it expected 10 years of production from it.

The lithium explorer is also undertaking a A$91 million placement at 31 Australian cents per share, and a share purchase plan to raise a further A$15 million towards the costs of the project.

($1 = 1.3600 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich) ((Arundhati.Dutta@thomsonreuters.com;))