INR Partnership, page-2

'Australian Financial ReviewGoldies charged with partner hunt for lithium play ioneerSarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd

23 June 2020

p. 14

Listed lithium play ioneer Ltd is powering up its search for a funding partner.

The $193 million company, which tapped Goldman Sachs last year to help it find a funding partner forits lithium and boron project in southern Nevada, has formalised the data room and diligencematerials for a handful of interested parties which have already been whittled down from a longer list.Goldman is running the process out of its New York office and is understood to have approachedAsian manufacturers keen to gain a foothold in the United States such as LG and Panasonic, as wellas global chemical companies, ESG companies and financial investors.Ioneer unveiled a definitive feasibility study for its Rhyolite Ridge project to the market in April, whichrevealed a total capital expenditure of $US785 million ($1.15 billion) was required to complete theproject, including an 8 per cent contingency.Enter the need for a strategic partner.Ioneer was sitting on $53.2 million cash as of March 31 this year. The new investor would beexpected to finance some of that funding shortfall to get the project, which has an estimated mineralresource of 146.5 million tonnes, up and running.No doubt Goldman was spruiking it as a chance to get involved in a project that’s expected to mineand process 63.8 million tonnes of lithium and boron over a 26-year mine life, or 2.5 million tonnes ayear.Interestingly, US billionaire John Arnold, who owns almost 10 percent of ioneer via his investmentfund Centaurus Capital, was hoovering up stock via Goldies last week. Arnold emerged as asubstantial holder in January.Local institutional investors include Regal Funds Management, Julian Babarczy’s Jigsaw Investmentsand Melbourne family money.'