Rinehart, MinRes tip into Delta Lithium $70m raise

afr.com:

Australia’s mining heavyweights are itching to get their mitts on lithium assets.

West Australian explorer Delta Lithium moved to raise $70.2 million from investors on Monday with Bell Potter and Canaccord Genuity in tow. Shares were being offered at 46¢ a piece – an 11.5 per cent discount to the last traded price and a 9.2 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price.

Delta Lithium executive chairman David Flanagan. AFR

The raise was unusual, as things go, structured as an accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer to eligible shareholders, Major shareholders Mineral Resources, which owns around 17 per cent of Delta, and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, at 4.6 per cent, took up their full entitlement. Together, this accounts for around 15.4 million on the entitlement offer.

Unusually, placements are used to bring in new shareholders but this one is being fully underwritten by Mineral Resources. Sources said MinRes is eager to hold more than 20 per cent of the company and is using the raise to creep up the register. Existing shareholder naturally have the opportunity to take up their rights, but if they don’t, MinRes will be there to pick up the balance. The same goes for the retail portion of the raise.

The raise comes days after West Australia’s Wildcat Resources was rounding up investors for an $80 million equity injection – a little over a week after Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources picked up a 19.85 per cent stake in the company. Billionaire Ellison has also muscled his way into the brewing takeover battle over lithium play Azure Minerals that already involves New York-listed SQM and mining titan Rinehart.

Proceeds will fund Delta’s flagship drilling program at the Mt Ida Lithium Project and the