investing news

Piedmont Expands Spodumene Resources Through Investments in IronRidge Resources

   Supports Piedmont’s Plan to Become America’s #1 Producer of Lithium Hydroxide   

  •  PLL to acquire 9.47% of IronRidge Resources (“IRR”) and a 50% interest in IRR’s Ghana-based lithium portfolio
  • $15mm equity placement and 50% project interest to be earned through staged investments over 3-4 years
  • Binding supply agreement for 50% of IRR’s planned Ghanaian spodumene concentrate (“SC6”) production
  • The IRR Ghana SC6 supply will support staged growth in Piedmont’s lithium hydroxide production
    •  Feasibility Study of Carolina Lithium’s integrated 30,000 t/y LiOH on track for September 2021
    • 30,000 t/y integrated LiOH project in Quebec to be evaluated jointly with Sayona Mining
    • IRR SC6 supply provides optionality for incremental 30,000 t/y LiOH capacity at a site to be determined
    • Hydroxide capacity to be developed in stages to minimize execution and funding risks

  Piedmont Lithium Inc. (Nasdaq: PLL, ASX: PLL) is pleased to announce that it has entered into definitive agreements (the “Agreements”) to establish a strategic partnership with IronRidge Resources (“IRR”) (AIM: IRR) through the purchase of an equity stake in IRR, staged project investments to earn a 50% interest in IRR’s Ghana-based lithium portfolio (“IRR Ghana”), and a binding supply agreement for 50% of IRR Ghana’s planned spodumene concentrate (“SC6”) production.

IRR Ghana has an impressive portfolio of spodumene prospects, anchored by the highly promising Ewoyaa Project (the “Ewoyaa Project”). The Ewoyaa Project has a current Mineral Resource of 14.5Mt @ 1.31% Li 2 O with vast exploration potential. 1 The Ewoyaa Project has the potential to be a large, low-cost spodumene concentrate (“SC6”) producer.

In January 2021, IRR published a scoping study for the Ewoyaa Project forecasting an average of 295,000 t/y of planned SC6 production, a $345 million after-tax net present value and an after-tax internal rate of return of 125%, for initial capital investment of $70 million. 2 The Ewoyaa Project capitalizes on its excellent location less than one mile from a major national highway and only 70 miles to the major port of Takoradi. The site is also directly adjacent to high voltage power and is expected to have a low environmental impact due to reliance on solar and hydroelectric generating capacity to power the facility. Piedmont conducted extensive due diligence over the past several months, including through site visits to Ghana, and believes that IRR Ghana has significant upside potential.

Piedmont will invest approximately $15 million (£10.8mm) to acquire a 9.47% equity interest in IRR (the “Subscription”) and will appoint one director to IRR’s Board of Directors. Piedmont will also have the opportunity to earn a 50% stake in IRR Ghana by investing (i) $17 million to fund ongoing exploration and a definitive feasibility study over the next 24 months to earn an initial 22.5% project interest, and (ii) a further $70 million in 2023-2025 to fund the construction of the Ewoyaa Project to earn an additional 27.5% project interest, which would bring the total to 50% ownership in IRR Ghana (together, the “Project Investment”). Piedmont and IRR have also entered into a binding SC6 supply agreement (the “Supply Agreement”), conditioned on Piedmont completing its earn-in obligations, pursuant to which IRR will supply Piedmont 50% of IRR Ghana’s planned SC6 production (currently estimated to be 147,500 t/y) at market prices on a life-of-mine basis.

The Subscription is expected to close in August 2021 subject to satisfaction of conditions precedent with the Project Investment expected to be staged over a three-to-four-year period leading to initial production in 2025. . Summary of Transaction Terms are available on the company website.  

Keith D. Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are very pleased to announce a partnership with IronRidge Resources to jointly develop their outstanding spodumene project portfolio in Ghana. We consider IRR’s Ewoyaa Project to be among the world’s most promising spodumene projects. The high-grade mineral resource is currently modest in scale but offers substantial exploration potential, and the project is very well-located, being only 70 miles from a major port. Ewoyaa builds on Piedmont’s strategic commitment to be a large-scale and low-cost producer of lithium hydroxide from spodumene concentrate sourced from diverse sustainable resources in favorable jurisdictions.  

  “Ghana is one of Africa’s most successful nations, with a strong mining tradition and an increasingly diverse economic base. In naming Ghana as the headquarters for its entire African business earlier this year, Twitter described Ghana as a ‘Champion for Democracy’. Euler-Hermes regularly rates Ghana among the lowest-risk jurisdictions in the region, and Transparency International rates Ghana ahead of other lithium-rich countries such as Argentina, China, Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, Mali, and the DRC in its annual corruption perception rankings.  

  “2021 has been a transformative year for Piedmont. We have built the world’s premier lithium development leadership team, significantly expanded our world-class Carolina Lithium Project, and become a multi-asset company through strategic investments in Quebec and in Ghana. We raised sufficient capital in March 2021 to comfortably fund these strategic initiatives as well as our definitive feasibility study in North Carolina and should end 2021 with a robust cash balance. We will now evaluate plans to capitalize on our expanded spodumene resource base to become a larger producer of the battery-quality lithium hydroxide that America will require to power the ongoing transition to electric vehicles. Lithium has been called ‘the irreplaceable element of the electric era,’ and we will bring large-scale production of lithium hydroxide to America.”  

  Click here to view the complete release.  

 

  1 Refer to IRR announcement dated January 28, 2020.

  2 Refer to IRR announcement dated January 19, 2021.

  

For further information:
Keith Phillips  
President & CEO
T: +1 973 809 0505
E: kphillips@piedmontlithium.com  

  Brian Risinger  
VP – Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
T: +1 704 910 9688
E: brisinger@piedmontlithium.com  

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

The Conversation (0)
Salt flats with text overlay: '5 Top Australian Mining Stocks This Week'

Top 5 Australian Mining Stocks This Week: Argosy Climbs 89 Percent on Rincon Lithium Spot Contract

Welcome to the Investing News Network's weekly round-up of Australia’s top-performing mining stocks on the ASX, starting with news in Australia's resource sector.

This week's top performing stocks includes firms focused on a wide variety of metals, including lithium, rutile and manganese. Lithium stocks, including top gainer Argosy Minerals (ASX:AGY), picked up momentum this week as prices moved upwards for a second straight week.

Companies focused on magnetite and rare earths were also among the week's top performers, including Freehill Mining (ASX:FHS), which saw its shares surge following insider buying from key executives including Chairman Benjamin Jarvis.

Keep reading...Show less
Metallic battery with a world map etched on it, against a dark background.

3 Key Themes from Fastmarkets' 2025 Lithium Supply & Battery Raw Materials Event

Market volatility, Chinese control, supply chain risk mitigation and financing emerged as some of the most prevalent themes at the 2025 Fastmarket’s Lithium Supply Battery Raw Materials (LBRM) conference in Las Vegas.

The event, which is in its 17th year, drew a crowd of roughly 1000 delegates, industry experts and analysts, to discuss the current landscape and future projections of the battery materials sector.

During his opening remarks, Fastmarkets CEO Raju Daswani highlighted the growth and maturation the battery raw materials sector has experienced.

Keep reading...Show less
Metals Australia (ASX:MLS)

Metals Australia


Keep reading...Show less
Futuristic skyline with electric car chargers and glowing cityscape at sunset.

Expert: African Lithium Key to China's Battery Supply Chain Dominance

With the global shift to electric vehicles (EVs) accelerating, China is cementing its dominance over the lithium supply chain by pouring investment into African mines, creating a new center of gravity for the battery metal.

Speaking at the Lithium Supply Battery Raw Materials conference, Claudia Cook senior analyst at Fastmarkets offered a sweeping assessment of how China is reshaping global lithium flows and why Africa will be crucial in the next decade.

Cook laid out in detail how China’s lithium strategy is evolving. As the world’s largest EV market, China needs a consistent, low-cost supply of lithium — but its domestic production is increasingly insufficient.

Keep reading...Show less
Electric vehicle charging with blue background.

Market Pain, Strategic Gain: Pilbara Minerals' Dale Henderson on Today's Lithium Paradox

“(Lithium) is not for the faint-hearted. It demands resilience, foresight and leadership,” said Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS,OTC Pink:PILBF) Managing Director and CEO Dale Henderson.

He was speaking at Fastmarkets’ Lithium Supply & Battery Raw Materials Conference, held this week in Las Vegas.

Henderson touched on three main points: current lithium market dynamics, how Pilbara Minerals is navigating the lithium landscape and his recommendations for the global lithium industry.

Keep reading...Show less

Latest Press Releases

Related News

×