LPI’s Consolidation Of 100% Of The Maricunga Project To Complete Imminently

Lithium Power International Limited (ASX: LPI) (“LPI” or the “Company”) ”) provides an update on the consolidation of 100% ownership of LPI’s flagship Maricunga lithium brine project in Chile (“Maricunga” or the “Project”).

HIGHLIGHTS

• The completion of the ownership consolidation process of the Maricunga lithium brine project is expected within December
• The Scheme meeting and second court hearing for the Salar Blanco (SBD) Transaction
• (33.31% interest portion) has taken place
• The Salar Blanco Transaction is expected to occur during the week of 19 December, satisfying the final condition to allow the Bearing Transaction (17.14% interest portion)

MSB SpA has now contributed its 31.31% interest in Maricunga to Delaware company, Salar Blanco, LLC (“SBD”), a wholly owned subsidiary of MSB SpA. The second court hearing for the scheme with SBD has now been conducted, and the court has approved the scheme. LPI is progressing to complete the merger with SBD to consolidate MSB SpA’s 31.31% interest in Maricunga (“SBD Transaction”).

The transaction with Bearing for its 17.14% interest will be completed by way of a Canadian Plan of Arrangement (“Bearing Transaction”), which has been approved by Bearing Shareholders and the Canadian court. The final condition to the Bearing Transaction is the completion of the SBD Transaction. Now that the court has approved the scheme for the SBD Transaction, the completion process for the Bearing Transaction will commence. It is expected this will complete by 22 December, resulting in LPI taking ownership of 100% of Maricunga.

Lithium Power’s Chairman, David Hannon, said:

“We are extremely pleased to be within reach of consolidating the ownership of Maricunga lithium brine project. This was a very logical and advantageous transaction for LPI shareholders. Assuming full control of the project creates a strong platform for LPI to fund and develop the project and will deliver accretive value to shareholders. We welcome Mr Borda and the Bearing shareholders to the LPI register and look forward to their direct involvement.”

Advisors

Treadstone Resource Partners acted as strategic and financial advisor to LPI in the transactions. Ashurst acted as the Australian legal advisor, Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as the Canadian legal advisor, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman acted as the US legal advisor to LPI. EY acted as the Australian, US and Canadian tax advisor to LPI.

Maricunga Lithium Brine Project

The Maricunga Project is located 170km north-east of Copiapó in Salar de Maricunga in the Atacama Region of northern Chile. In January 2022, LPI announced the results of its updated Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) for the Stage One Maricunga Lithium Brine Project¹, which supports 15,200 t/a production of battery grade lithium carbonate for 20 years. The DFS provides for a project NPV (leveraged basis) of US$1.4B (after tax) at an 8% discount rate, providing an IRR of 39.6%, a 2-year payback and estimated steady-state annual EBITDA of US$324 million.

The study confirmed that Maricunga could be one of the world’s lowest-cost producers of lithium carbonate, with an operating cost of US$3,718 per tonne not including revenue credits from a potassium chloride by-product. The project will have an exceptional ESG profile, aiming to achieving carbon neutrality once the operation beds down, setting new standards for social relationships.

Click here for the full article

This article includes content from Lithium Power International, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.