from AFR
Rinehart casts big lithium shadow

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and Indian interests appear ready to pull the trigger on a new lithium project in Western Australia, just weeks after a private meeting between Australian richest person and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney.

Shares in Legacy Iron Ore and Hawthorn Resources, the two ASX-listed entities involved in the Mount Bevan project, were halted on Wednesday.

Gina Rinehart with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Twitter

The anticipated Hancock move on the project, about 250 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, comes with Delta Lithium and its neighbouring Mount Ida lithium project also in the spotlight. Japanese petroleum heavyweight Idemitsu said on Wednesday that it wanted to double down on critical minerals after lifting its stake in Delta to 15 per cent.

Investment interest in lithium has surged in the past few years as governments declare them – and other minerals such as rare earths and graphite – as “critical” to decarbonisation efforts and national security. The Australian Financial Review on Wednesday reported that the value of major ASX-listed critical minerals companies rose from $8.6 billion to $86.2 billion in the past decade, taking it past the 25 companies that comprise the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index, worth some $86.1 billion.

Idemitsu, which raised its stake through a $46.4 million placement, has also given an undertaking to vote with the David Flanagan-led Delta board if there is a takeover offer. Mr Flanagan said the Idemitsu undertaking was “wicked” and virtually unprecedented, and showed it wanted to play a big role in developing Mt Ida.

The Japanese giant already has a near-15 per cent stake in Queensland vanadium explorer Vecco Group and a stake in Critical Minerals Group, while other investments in Australia include the Boggabri coal mine in NSW.

The Delta raising was priced at 70.5¢ a share and comes with Hancock and India’s National Mineral Development Corporation eyeing the potential to mine lithium nearby. The Mount Bevan project is a joint venture between Hancock, NMDC-backed Legacy Iron and Hawthorn Resources, with tenements that cover 165 square kilometres in a part of WA that Mr Flanagan has dubbed the “lithium corridor of power”.

The broader region includes Liontown’s Kathleen Valley mine, the Mount Marion mine owned by Mineral Resources and China’s Ganfeng, and the Mount Holland mine being developed by joint venture partners Wesfarmers and SQM.

“Idemitsu is a global scale diversified conglomerate with significant financial capacity and capabilities in lithium battery technologies, mining, chemical engineering, commodity trading, shipping, construction and advanced manufacturing,” he said.

Mr Flanagan talked up Idemitsu’s links to vehicle manufacturers through its history in supplying lubricants and chemical products.

Idemitsu Australia chief executive Steve Kovac said Delta had “the most exciting pre-development lithium projects in Australia”. Mr Kovac said backing Delta was part of a strategy to “double down on our strategic investments in critical minerals as the world turns to a more advanced renewable future”.

Mr Flanagan, the former boss of the Atlas Iron operations now owned by Hancock, is aiming to have Mount Ida in production by next year.