Ellison eyes new lithium prize near Albemarle joint venture
Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources has turned its attention to a new lithium target with links to the company’s chairman, located near the prolific Wodgina lithium mine jointly owned by MinRes and Albemarle.
The billionaire MinRes founder is looking to build a stake in Wildcat Resources, The Australian Financial Review can reveal, and has sounded out the target’s investors about acquiring their shares off market.
Chris Ellison is the managing director of Mineral Resources.
The MinRes interest sustains a lithium land grab around established mines in Western Australia, and adds to the intrigue around Albemarle’s next move after abandoning a $6.6 billion takeover bid for Liontown Resources.
Wildcat last week completed the acquisition of the Tabba Tabba lithium project in WA’s Pilbara through a deal with Global Advanced Metals, which is owned by James McClements’ private equity firm, Resource Capital Funds. Through the Tabba Tabba sale process, Global Advanced and Resource Capital now control a 17.9 per cent stake in Wildcat, plus a royalty from lithium production.
Pilbara-raised Mr McClements is the chairman of MinRes and has served on the board since 2015.
MinRes purchased the Wodgina mine from Global Advanced in 2016 for an amount considered immaterial by MinRes and never disclosed. MinRes then sold a half share in Wodgina to Albemarle for about $1.56 billion in 2018, and Mr Ellison has since recut its partnership with the battery chemicals giant several times.
The latest iteration of the MinRes-Albemarle JV was completed on Wednesday. MinRes no longer has any interest in Albemarle’s lithium hydroxide plant in WA, and Albemarle will pay MinRes $US380 million ($602 million) to $US400 million by December as consideration.
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