The AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ) share price is marching higher again today. The ASX lithium share is up 3.66% in early afternoon trade, to 42.5 cents per share.
That puts the AVZ Minerals share price up 21% since the closing bell last Wednesday, 27 October.
Below we look at what helped drive shares higher over the week.
Booming lithium demand and project upgrades
The AVZ Minerals share price is subject to many forces.
One of the likely tailwinds the ASX lithium explorer has enjoyed is the booming demand and growth outlook for lithium.
As The Motley Fool reported last week, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) leapt past the psychologically important US$1 trillion market capitalisation milestone. That followed global car rental company Hertz announcing its plans to purchase 100,000 Teslas.
That news likely stirred investor bullishness on the outlook for lithium shares, with many ASX and globally-listed lithium explorers posting solid gains. The AVZ Minerals share price closed up 5.8% on 28 October.
The AVZ share price really got a boost this Monday. This followed the afternoon release of the company's quarterly report on Friday, with its shares finishing Monday up 11.3%.
Among the highlights of the quarter, AVZ signed Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies as a cornerstone investor to develop its Manono Lithium and Tin Project, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Commenting on the partnership AVZ managing director, Nigel Ferguson said:
The cornerstone investor deal with CATH marked one of the most significant days in our company's short history and clearly indicated to the world how important our Manono Lithium and Tin Project is…
The deal with CATH will fund a significant portion of the total required project financing, whilst AVZ maintains a controlling 51% interest in the Manono Project and our position as lead developer. The deal also provides significant opportunities to advance other downstream projects, providing an exciting future for AVZ shareholders.
AVZ Minerals also completed a $40 million capital raising and upgraded its Manono JORC Proved and Probable Ore Reserves Estimate to 131.7 million tonnes. That was up 41.6% from what was reported in the definitive feasibility study (DFS) in April 2020.
AVZ Minerals share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, the AVZ Minerals share price has left the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) in the dust. Over the full year, AVZ Minerals shares are up a whopping 490% compared to a gain of 23% posted by the All Ords.
AVZ Minerals has continued to outperform, with its share price up 26% since this time last month.
