10 Jun Lithium craze has some way to run
For all the hype about the lithium boom, we haven’t seen a pureplay listed entity that has focused on the wonder element from the outset — until now.
According to Criterion’s resident resources guru, there are close to 200 stocks that claim a lithium presence. But they’ve all been reinvented explorers of out of favour
commodities that suddenly have found a trace of the metal in their tenements. Lithium Power International (LPI) which has just raised $8 million in a wildly
oversubscribed offer, is exclusively focused on spodumene (hard rock) targets in the Greenbushes and Pilbara regions of Western Australia.
LPI’s other lithium love interest is a brine deposit in Argentina’s Salta province, where the ASX listed producer Orocobre (ORE) operates.
Greenbushes hosts what’s currently the world’s biggest hardrock lithium mine, while the feted Pilbara Minerals (PLS) and Altura Mining (AJM) are
active near LPI’s Pilgangoora / Houston Creek ground.
Lithium Power International claims a management team with 100 combined years’ of lithium experience, notably technical director Murray Brooker.
The float’s proponents report $40m of demand for the stock, which suggests the craze has some way to run. In case you need reminding, lithium is a key
ingredient in battery technology for mobile phones as well as electric and hybrid cars. Lithium is also not exactly rare and the current global market is small,
but don’t let that spoil the story.
LPI plans to list “on or around” June 14 at 20c a-piece.
TIM BOREHAM | THE AUSTRALIAN |12:14PM JUNE 8 2016