Delta Lithium boss James Croser says there’s some friendly tension in the lithium aspirant’s boardroom, as its major shareholders “keep each other in check”.
Speaking at the RIU Explorers conference in Fremantle today, Mr Croser told the room that Delta’s four major shareholders, two of which are Mineral Resources and Hancock Prospecting, gave the company a significant strategic advantage.
Mr Croser said when the time came, access to capital for project development should not be a problem given the top shareholders had “very deep pockets”.
He said they would still need to convince them to commit to investment with very good reasons, but that having prolific shareholders provided the company with a significant strategic benefit.
“Having four significant shareholders at the top of the register, they do tend to keep each other in check,” Mr Croser told the room.
“There is some very nice friendly tension in the boardroom.”
It comes against a backdrop of collapsed lithium prices and weak demand, a theme addressed by majority of the battery metals-focused junior miners at the conference.
MinRes has a 23.8 per cent stake in Delta, majority of which it acquired a month before MinRes boss Chris Ellison muscled into the board to become chairman, ousting David Flanagan.
Mr Croser said it was very encouraging to see Mr Ellison and Joshua Thurlow, who is chief executive of lithium at MinRes, join the board last year. He said it was "something that was not taken lightly".
The mining executive said it also provided the company with some very strong insights on how to construct and operate lithium mines in WA.
Meanwhile, Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting built its existing stake during Delta’s $70 million raise last year, and now holds a 10.7 per cent foothold on the register.
The other two top shareholders are major Japanese energy player Idemitsu (11.3 per cent) and Waratah Capital Advisors (10.5 per cent), which is a Toronto-based asset manager.
ASX-listed Delta is in the midst of developing its Yinnetharra asset in the Gascoyne and Mt Ida project in the Goldfields. Late last year it bought the lithium rights to the Lyons River asset north-east of Carnarvon.
Last month, Delta announced it would reassess its capital allocations amid the downturn in the lithium market, and that it was not feasible to start direct shipped ore lithium mining at this stage of the price cycle despite gaining open pit mining approval at Mt Ida.
Mr Croser said the company was still in discussions with nearby gold producers regarding the commodity detected at its Mt Ida asset.
