Green Technology Metals (GT1) is set to raise around A$55m ($39m) in new equity funds through a two-tranche placement of nearly 52.4 million new fully paid ordinary shares at a price of A$1.05 ($0.74) per share.
The company has received commitment for $10m strategic investment from Lithium Americas (LAC), as part of its equity fund raise.
LAC will obtain a 5.2% stake in GT1 following settlement of both tranches of the placement, subject to GT1 shareholder approval.
Existing investors AMCI Australia (AMCI) and Primero Group, have committed for A$4m and A$3.14m respectively, and are participating only in the second tranche placement.
GT1 intends to use the proceeds from the placement for the exploration, resource definition, expansion, and preliminary studies along with integrated feasibility study at the Seymour mine project.
GT1 chief executive officer Luke Cox said: “We are delighted to have secured such a strong spread of new and existing investors to this transformational equity raising.
“The endorsement of leading lithium company, Lithium Americas, also reinforces our positive view on the prospectivity of our assets.
“In combination with our existing strategic delivery partners and major shareholders, Primero and AMCI, we look forward to working with LAC in executing on our aggressive project advancement and development plans over the next few years.”
In addition to the $10m placement, LAC has signed a non-binding collaboration framework agreement with GT1 to explore an integrated lithium chemicals business in North America.
The deal will enable evaluation of lithium processing and production value chain, from processing of spodumene through to the production of battery-grade lithium chemicals.
LAC has a current market capitalisation of around $3.4bn.
The company is building the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium brine project in Argentina, which is expected to complete in the second half of 2022.
Also, it aims develop a lithium supply chain in North American through its Thacker Pass deposit in Nevada, the largest known lithium resource in the US.
The company has commenced the early-works at Thacker Pass prospect, with plans to being the construction this year.
LAC president and CEO Jon Evans said: “GT1’s team brings a strong track record of lithium exploration and resource extraction, which fits well with Lithium Americas’ expertise in chemical processing.
“With this initial investment, we look forward to working closely with GT1 to help accelerate the development of a North American lithium supply chain.”
