Piedmont Lithium Limited (NASDAQ: PLL) was previously a listed shell looking for new projects when in 2016, Apollo Group principals identified an opportunity in the United States to build a substantial lithium project, with the goal of becoming a strategic domestic supplier of lithium to the increasing electric vehicle and battery storage markets in the United States.
The Piedmont Lithium Project, located in the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, a premier region in the world for lithium exploration given its favourable geology and ideal location with easy access to infrastructure, power, R&D centres for lithium and battery storage and major high-tech population centres.
Following acquisition of the Piedmont Lithium Project, the Company quickly:
- expanded its land holding position and undertook a number of large-scale drilling programs;
- appointed a high quality US based executive team, including an experienced CEO;
- progressively increased the resource base to establish a large scale and potential long mine life project;
- confirmed the project’s fundamentals by completing several technical and economic studies, including, scoping studies, PFS, DFS and the incorporation of an integrated lithium hydroxide chemical plant business;
- listed on NASDAQ in the US, to better align the asset base with new investors;
- in 2020, the Company secured an off-take agreement with Telsa, for an initial period of five-years and on a fixed-price binding purchase commitment;
- re-domiciled to the US, initiated primary listing on NASDAQ.
Piedmont’s agreement with Tesla highlights the strategic importance of Piedmont’s unique American spodumene deposit and confirms the trend toward spodumene as the preferred feedstock for the lithium hydroxide required in high-nickel batteries.
The Company’s market capitalisation has increased from A$10 million to over A$1.5 billion. The Company has now raised over A$320 million, primarily from new US investors, resulting in US shareholders holding more than 70% of the shares on issue driving the decision to re-domicile the Company to the US with a primary listing on NASDAQ.