China’s state-controlled Zijin Mining Group Co. acquired all the shares of Canada’s Neo Lithium Corp. for Canadian$6.50 per share in cash, for a total amount of C$960 million, making it the second acquisition a Chinese company has made within two months of a Canadian lithium mining company.
The transaction is still subject to consideration and approval at the Neo Lithium’s shareholders’ special meeting. It will also require regulatory and court approvals from the Chinese and from Canadian regulators.
Neo Lithium’s core asset is the Tres Quebradas (3Q) Lithium Project, a newly discovered lithium saline and brine reservoir complex in Catamarca Province, the biggest lithium producer in Argentina. It is estimated that its total lithium carbonate-equivalent resources are approximately 7.565 million tons. In September, Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) acquired all shares of Canada’s Millennial Lithium Corp. in a cash transaction worth Can$377 million. CATL, is a supplier to the U.S. company Tesla Inc. It also became the third-largest shareholder in Neo Lithium last year after purchasing 10 million of its shares.
Source: Radio France International, October 11, 2021
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