Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), a Chinese-Australian joint venture (JV) between Tianqi Lithium and IGO, has bid to acquire 100% of Australian lithium developer Essential Metals.
An announcement from Essential said the proposal is to be considered for approval by shareholders in April.
Tianqi Lithium is listed in China and is a major player in the lithium industry. It has teamed up with IGO, an Australian mining and processing company, to form the JV to acquire Essential. The diluted equity value for Essential is A$136 million ($95 million).
TLEA owns 51% of the Greenbushes mine in Western Australia. It is said to be the largest, highest-grade, and least expensive hard rock lithium mine in the world. It also owns a fully automated battery-grade lithium hydroxide factory in Perth, Western Australia.
The plant has capacity of 48ktpa of lithium hydroxide suitable for batteries. The Greenbushes lithium mine can produce 1.2Mtpa of chemical-grade spodumene concentrate and 0.14Mtpa of technical-grade spodumene concentrate annually, according to the Energy Matters website.
Tim Spencer, Managing Director of Essential said: “We believe this transaction is a great outcome for Essential shareholders and for other stakeholders including employees, suppliers, the Ngadju people and the State of Western Australia, all of whom will benefit from the Pioneer Dome Lithium Project being developed by a large, well financed and experienced lithium sector participant as is TLEA.”
Essential’s main asset is the Pioneer Dome Lithium Project, which it is pre-developing.
Photo: Greenbushes mine in Western Australia. Tianqi Lithium
