One ASX All Ordinaries lithium share is having a stellar day on the market today.
The AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ) share price is trading at 82.3 cents at the time of writing, a 12% gain. In earlier trade, it surged nearly 18%.
Let's take a look at what's attracting investor attention today.
What did this lithium explorer announce today?
AVZ Minerals revealed it has expedited its agreement with Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies (CATH) on a global joint lithium project.
The Manono Lithium and Tin Project is a lithium development in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It contains lithium pegmatites with a 13km strike length.
CATH is a private investment entity owned by Pei Zhenhua and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited. AVZ said both have a huge influence on the lithium-ion battery industry.
The company will pay US$240 million in cash for a 24% equity interest in the venture. CATH will also contribute its pro-rata portion of funding towards the project. This was reported to the market in September.
As part of the news announced today, the companies have agreed to waive the following conditions.
- The mining licence for the Manono Project being granted to Dathcom Mining SA
- Dathcom and the DRC government entering into a collaboration development agreement
- The Dathcom board and shareholders making a final investment decision and approving the transaction
Management comment
Commenting on the venture, managing director Nigel Ferguson said:
Finalising our agreement with CATH provides certainty of funding to progress development of the Manono Project, pending the award of our Mining Licence and Collaboration Development Agreement from the Democratic Republic of Congo Government.
We are in close consultation with the DRC Government authorities that are undertaking the Mining Licence assessment and are confident of delivering a favourable outcome for all stakeholders – most importantly the people of the DRC and our shareholders.
AVZ Minerals Ltd share price summary
The AVZ Minerals share price has surged 300% in the past year and almost 6% year to date.
However, in the past month, the company's shares have dropped more than 11%.
For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned around 5% over the past year.
AVZ Minerals has a market capitalisation of about $2.8 billion based on today's share price.
