MinRes to pay $260m for Bald Hill

The Bald Hill lithium mine in the Goldfields will cost Mineral Resources almost $260 million after a price for the acquisition was revealed by administrators.  

It comes after the Chris Ellison-led miner took control of the lithium asset from Alita Resources at the start of this month, forming part of the company’s acquisitive streak of lithium interests.

In a shareholder announcement filed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, McGrathNicol said a settlement agreement was executed on November 21 between MinRes and Alita for $173.9 million, plus $86.1 million to cover debts.

The later figure covers the liabilities of Alita-linked Tawana Resources and Lithco, including the secured debt outstanding to Austroid and Yihe Cleantech Material totalling about $86.1 million.

Tawana in a subsidiary of Alta, which owns all the shares in Lithco, the previous owner and operator of the Bald Hill mine.

A previously inked offtake deal between Lithco and Yihe is still being investigated by the Australian Taxation Office about whether or not it’s at an arm’s length.

A US-based, China-linked company named Austroid, which is a secured creditor of Alita, had sought to buy the company and Bald Hill mine, but was blocked by the federal government’s Foreign Investment Review Board in July 2023.

Speaking to shareholders at MinRes’s annual general meeting last week, Mr Ellison shed light on his recent string of acquisitions for lithium interests and battery metal rights in the Pilbara and Goldfields, respectively.

Namely, MinRes’s 13.6 per cent stake in Azure, its 19.85 per cent interest in Wildcat Resources, its 17.44 per cent holding in Delta Lithium and interest in Global Lithium Resources, alongside the Bald Hill agreement.

The miner also recently struck a deal to secure the lithium and base metals rights at Pantoro’s Norseman gold project in the Goldfields under a $60 million deal.

McGrathNicol was appointed administrators of Alita Resources in December 2020, amid a downturn in lithium prices.