MIM's success is Hazer's as well. The sooner graphite is...

MIM's success is Hazer's as well. The sooner graphite is produced as is
intended by Mineral Resources the sooner we gain an income. This will
obviate any funding concerns. IMO

Mineral Resources eyes $1bn payday from sale of stake in Pilbara lithium mine


Mineral Resources chief executive Chris Ellison. (Colin Murty/The Australian)

• The Australian
• 5:48PM May 1, 2018
• PAUL GARVEY
  
  Resources Reporter
  Perth
  @PDGarvey
  

Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources is eyeing off a potential billion dollar-plus payday after the company revealed plans to sell a stake in its big Wodgina lithium project.
Perth-based MinRes (MIN) today announced it had appointed Macquarie Capital and Gilbert + Tobin to assist it with the sale of up to a 49 per cent interest in Wodgina in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
While MinRes did not give any guidance around the expected value of the Wodgina stake, analyst valuations and the current market capitalisation of other lithium peers suggest a sale price of over $1 billion could be achievable.
Such a result would cap a remarkable return for MinRes, which since picking up Wodgina less than two years ago for a relatively minor sum has since turned it into what it says is the world’s largest hard rock lithium deposit.
In a statement, Mr Ellison said the potential sale of the stake was in line with the company’s strategy of investing in early stage projects, adding significant value and then seeking equity partners.

• READ MORE
• Lithium energises MinResPAUL GARVEY
• MinRes to buy Atlas IronSAMANTHA BAILEY
• MinRes deal boosts lithium handPAUL GARVEY

Mr Ellison has repeatedly described MinRes as a mining services company first and foremost, and any sale would see MinRes continue to provide complete “pit to port” mining services over the life of the mine.
“The decision to embark on a process to sell a minority interest in Wodgina will allow MinRes to focus on its core strategy of being a world-leading mining services provider at the same time as having like-minded strategic partners invest with us to fully unlock Wodgina’s lithium potential,” he said.
MinRes is also studying the development of a downstream processing plant in the Pilbara that would convert lithium concentrate into higher-value chemicals for the batteries sector, and Mr Ellison said those plans would not depend on a sale of Wodgina.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank earlier this year valued Wodgina at more than $2.1 billion, while Macquarie analysts estimated the project was worth just over $1.7bn. Both valuations predated today’s updated resource and reserve at Wodgina, which show the deposit now contains roughly five times as much ore as the nearby project of Altura Mining (market capitalisation $682 million) and is 50 per cent larger than the neighbouring deposit of Pilbara Minerals (market cap $1.6bn).
The company previously announced similar plans for its stake in the Mt Marion lithium mine near Kalgoorlie back in August 2016, but no deal materialised in that instance.
Today’s decision to put a stake in Wodgina up for sale followed what MinRes said was “a significant number of unsolicited approaches” from parties including lithium processors, battery manufacturers, trading companies and automakers.
The potential sale of an interest in Wodgina is the latest in a string of deals and proposed transactions to emerge from the red-hot lithium sector.
The Australian’s DataRoom column on Monday revealed that lithium miner Galaxy Resources had appointed JPMorgan to sell a stake in its undeveloped Sal de Vida lithium project in Argentina, while Tawana Resources recently announced a merger with Singapore’s Alliance Mineral Assets, its joint venture partner in the Bald Hill lithium mine.