Lithea's main asset, the PPG project, is a lithium salt lake project in Argentina that includes two lithium salt lake assets.
Argentina's lithium resources are the target of a number of Chinese companies as battery makers seek access to key metal resources.
Ganfeng Lithium (SHE: 002460) plans to buy up to 100 percent of Argentina-focused Lithea for up to $962 million, the Shenzhen-listed Chinese lithium giant said in an exchange announcement Monday.
The total consideration includes the value of the entire stake in Lithea and the value of the related debt of Lithea to be assumed by Ganfeng, according to the announcement.
Lithea is a company incorporated on July 27, 2009 under the laws of the British Virgin Islands.
The company is principally engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium mining rights and its principal asset, the PPG Project, is a lithium salt lake project located in Salta Province, Argentina, comprising the Pozuelos and PastosGrandes lithium salt lake assets.
The Pozuelos property covers an area of 10,787 hectares and the Pastos Grandes property covers an area of 2,683 hectares, according to Ganfeng's announcement.
(The blue and red zones are the areas where the mineral rights related to the PPG project are located.)
Lithea's PPG project has a planned capacity of 30,000 tons per annum of lithium carbonate in Phase I and could be expanded to 50,000 tons per annum of lithium carbonate depending on natural resource conditions at the project site, according to the announcement.
The transaction will help the company further strengthen its upstream lithium resource layout and enhance its core competitiveness, which is in line with the company's upstream and downstream integration and new energy vehicle (NEV) industry development strategy, Ganfeng said.
Ganfeng is the latest Chinese company to seek access to lithium resources in Argentina.
On June 24, Chinese power battery giant Gotion High-tech (SHE: 002074) signed an agreement with Argentina's state-owned mining company Jujuy Energía y Minería Sociedad del Estado (JEMSE) in Argentina to establish a joint venture.
The joint venture will establish and operate a battery-grade lithium carbonate refinery in Argentina, with an initial plan to build a 10,000-ton per year battery-grade lithium carbonate production line and the second phase of 50,000-ton per year battery-grade lithium carbonate production line to be built in accordance with market demand.
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