MinRes flags end of lithium acquisitive streak
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Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources is closing its cheque book to juniors in the lithium sector but is still keen on inking deals with gold miners for battery metals rights.
The managing director said MinRes was “still out there doing incremental deals with gold miners on acquiring lithium rights” but Kali Metals was the last explorer that piqued its interest.
Deals of the sort would follow MinRes’s $60 million agreement to secure the lithium and base metals rights at Pantoro’s Norseman gold project in the Goldfields.
The comments follow an acquisitive streak for MinRes, after it upped its stake in ASX-debutant Kali Metals to 14 per cent, and secured shares in Wildcat Resources, Develop Global and Delta Lithium.
MinRes previously bought a foothold in takeover target and lithium hopeful Azure Minerals but has reportedly confirmed it was selling its 14.5 per cent stake.
The move effectively aids SQM and joint bidder Hancock Prospecting’s $1.7 billion takeover deal which is in the “final processes of closing”.
“Kali [Metals] was the last one that kind of list that was of interest, and Kali was of interest because it surrounds Mt Marion, and to a lesser extend Bald Hill,” Mr Ellison said.
“There’s nothing out there at the moment that we’re liking, from a public company point of view, other than doing lithium rights deals with gold miners.”
It comes as MinRes released its half year results to the market last night, recording statutory net profit after tax of $518 million for the first half of 2024, up from $390 million in 1H23. The result was aided by a $43.9 million tax benefit.
The ASX-listed lithium and iron ore miner reported a 7 per cent lift in revenue for the half to $2.5 billion, up from $2.3 billion in 1H23.
MinRes said its "star performer" iron ore through "strong prices and solid volumes" grew revenue from the commodity up 37 per cent to $1.3 billion in the half.
Its underlying EBITDA slipped 28 per cent down to $675 million, from $939 million in the prior period.