oscarspenc

The lithium developer Piedmont Lithium Ltd has raised around A$29 million to continue developing its lithium project of the same name in North Carolina, US.

The company said that it has received a Tungsten Carbide Rods Single Hole subscription commitment to publicly issue 1.8 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) in the United States. Each ADS represents 100 ordinary shares, at an issue price of about A$8.90 each to raise gross proceeds of around A$16.2 million.

Due to strong investor demand, the underwriter exercised the option to purchase an additional 265,000 ADSs to make up for the over-allotment, and the issue price was also US$6.3 per share, raising another US$1.7 million (A$2.4 million).

Piedmont told shareholders that the company also received commitments from existing non-US institutional and sophisticated shareholders and directors for 120 million of its fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of 9 cents per share, which equates to the same issue price of the public offering. This private placement will raise gross tungsten carbide burrs proceeds of A$10.8 million.

The private placement will be approved by shareholders at the Piedmont Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held in late July. The public offering ends on June 11, and the advertisement will be issued according to the company's existing placement capabilities at the end of July.

Piedmont told shareholders that through public offerings and private placements, the development of the lithium project will continue, including feasibility studies, testing work, permits, and ongoing land consolidation, as well as general corporate purposes.

Preliminary research on the mine and concentrator project estimates that a capital investment of US$168 million is required to maintain 22,700 tons/year of lithium hydroxide output per year within the mine's 25-year service life.

To develop the lithium project, Piedmont also conducted a pre-feasibility study on the proposed lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Kings Hill, North Carolina of the US, proving that an independent commercial chemical plant will convert the purchased lithium concentrate.