PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Neometals is looking for a third-party buyer for its 13.8% interest in the Reed Industrial Minerals joint venture (JV), after its JV partners failed to take the bait.
Neometals in early April announced plans to divest of its stake in the JV vehicle, which owns the Mt Marion lithium project in Western Australia, for $96-million.
The company said on Wednesday that neither of its JV partners, being fellow-listed Mineral Resources and China’s Ganfeng Lithium, had accepted the offer within the offer period under the terms of a pre-emptive rights procedure, allowing the company to now look for an outside buyer.
Neometals said that it was in discussions with interested third parties.
The Mt Marion lithium project shipped its first product in February and is expected to produce about 280 000 t/y of 4% to 6% lithium spodumene concentrate.