Gina Rinehart, the richest person in Australia, has thrown half a billion dollars into lithium miner Liontown Resources in a stunning endorsement of green energy.
Liontown is an Australia-based battery mineral producer that largely mines lithium, a key component in the batteries that are used to store renewable energy. It’s developing a lucrative high quality hard-rock deposit in Kathleen Valley, WA.
Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting, confirmed it had acquired a 7.72 per cent stake in the lithium miner, bringing the value of its shareholding to a staggering $510 million.
Rinehart’s huge investment comes as global mining companies battle to control scarce supplies of lithium amid mounting demand for renewable energy, and for electric cars in particular.
Vehicle manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with demand, while smaller operators like Liontown ride the wave, suddenly finding themselves mega-valuable.
“This shareholding provides Hancock with a strategic stake in Liontown, giving Liontown the opportunity to leverage Hancock’s expertise where it is of value to support the project’s development and subsequent operations,” Rinehart’s company said in statement.
The $500 million dollar investment could mean Rinehart is gunning for a seat on Liontown’s board, just as US industry giant Albemarle Corporation prepares to buy the company up for $6.6 billion.
Albemarle made its huge bid for Liontown at $3 a share and is inspecting Liontown’s books before it closes the deal.
Liontown’s shares have traded at around that $3 price tag since Monday’s close, meaning its market value has jumped up to $6.65 billion. A spokesman for Albemarle said that “at this stage, we’re just focused on completing the transaction.”
Albemarle already holds a 4.3 per cent stake in the WA miner through its subsidiary, RT Lithium. It has bid on the company three times in the past five months.
“It is expected that Albemarle’s due diligence will take approximately four weeks. That due diligence will be on an exclusive basis, subject to customary fiduciary exceptions,” Liontown said.
Last month, Rinehart threw her weight behind nuclear energy, a form of green energy that is still in its early stages.
In a rare public address at the Bush Summit, Rinehart praised “king coal” but also said: “Let’s not upset many farmers with bird-killing wind generators and massive solar panel stretches, and bring on clean, safe, nuclear energy please Australia.”
Get in touch — chloe.whelan@news.com.au