But what would have happened if you had invested $10,000 into the company's shares ahead of its listing? Let's find out.

What is Kali Metals?

Firstly, in case you're not familiar with the Australian share market's latest ASX lithium share, let's have a quick look at it.

Kali Metals is a lithium explorer with a portfolio of lithium projects primarily in the Pilbara and Eastern Yilgarn regions in Western Australia. This includes its DOM's Hill and Marble Bar projects, which are co-owned by Chilean lithium giant Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM).

The company attracted a lot of interest this month when a number of rich listers took part in its IPO. One of those was Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) founder and CEO, Chris Ellison.

He personally invested in the IPO, with Mineral Resources then quickly acquiring a 10% holding separately following its listing.

What is $10,000 worth now?

If you had followed Ellison's lead and took part in the IPO with a $10,000 investment, you would have ended up owning 40,000 Kali Metals shares.

Since listing at 25 cents per new share, the company's shares have been as high as 89 cents.

If you were to have sold your holding at that point, your 40,000 shares would have had a market value of $35,600. That's over $25,000 more than your original investment in a matter of days.

Unfortunately, Kali Metals shares haven't managed to stay at those lofty levels and are currently fetching 55.5 cents.

This means that a $10,000 investment would currently be worth $22,200.

While not as great as selling at the top, this is still more than double your original investment in just over a a week. Pretty stellar!

The post Here's how much you'd have now if you invested $10,000 into the Kali Metals IPO appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The company has a mining services division, an iron ore division, a lithium division and an energy division where there is a gas discovery.  

The latest move by Mineral Resources is to invest in ASX lithium share Kali Metals Ltd (ASX: KM1), the latest lithium business to list on the ASX.

What is Kali Metals?

This ASX small-cap share has 3,854km2 of land across Western Australia, NSW and Victoria, with a large amount located close to existing lithium projects and infrastructure.

Kali Metals has a partner – SQM, a major Chilean producer which is responsible for 19% of the global supply.

The company says it has a "highly accomplished board and management team" who have a background in mining, exploration and project development which "complements lithium industry credentials."

Kali Metals recently revealed that spodumene concentrate, meaning lithium, has been identified at the Spargoville project, which is one of the projects within the Higginsvile lithium district. Ongoing soil sampling programs have been planned to cover all eight projects in 2024. You can read more about that recent news here.

Why Mineral Resources shares could be a safer way to invest in the ASX lithium share

Last week, it was announced that Minerals Resources had taken up a stake of approximately 10% of Kali Metals.

While Kali Metals is an exciting business, it's still in the exploration stage of its operations, so there's a lot of work to do before the ASX lithium share starts mining, let alone makes a profit.

Mineral Resources is an established business with a multi-billion dollar market capitalisation that's already making a lot of profit and has plans to become even more profitable by lifting production. It's a safer choice, and remember that it has its own plans to ramp up lithium production.

However, at this stage, owning 10% of Kali Metals isn't worth that much – its total market capitalisation is $87 million, so the Mineral Resources stake is worth roughly $9 million. Mineral Resources has a market cap of over $12 billion, so the holding is essentially immaterial.

But, if Kali Metals can become a much bigger business, then Mineral Resources can benefit and its stake could grow in value to be worth tens of millions of dollars (or perhaps more).

Minerals Resources share price valuation

With increased production on the horizon, Mineral Resources is set to see profit growth.

According to Commsec, the Minerals Resources share price is valued at under 10 times FY26's estimated earnings with a possible grossed-up dividend yield of 6.1%.

The post Why I'd consider buying Mineral Resources shares to tap into Kali Metals appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Heading into the afternoon, 3-day-old Kali Metals (in terms of listed life) is seeing its share price skyrocket a further 38%. The rapid gain builds on a monumental 110% increase achieved in the first two days.

In comparison, Core Lithium is sitting on a flat share price after descending 22% since 2024 got underway.

So, what is behind the relentless march higher for Kali? And why are Core Lithium shares not partaking in the enthusiasm despite chasing the same commodity?

Out with the old and in with the new

Firstly, what are we working with here? According to the prospectus, Kali Metals is a 'lithium-focused exploration company' with rights to explore tenements for the energising commodity across projects in multiple regions, including:

• Pilbara, Western Australia
• Eastern Yilgarn, Western Australia
• Lachlan Fold Belt, Northern-eastern Victoria and Southern New South Wales

Today's sustained excitement for Kali Metals could be due to two reasons, as outlined by my studious colleague James Mickleboro. These include the discovery of lithium-bearing pegmatites in Kali's Spargoville Project, and the news of Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) (MinRes) — which owns nearby mines to the north and the east — taking a stake of almost 10% in its neighbour.

For investors, Kali Metals offers the chance to get in at the bottom floor (exploring stage). With 3,853 square kilometres of area for potential discoveries — combined with its proximity to existing deposits — speculators are hopeful something lies beneath.

On the other hand, Core Lithium shares have already gone from explorer to producer, becoming a 40-bagger at its high.

However, the excitement has since worn off amid falling lithium prices. Adding to the pressure, the more established lithium company suspended mining at its Finniss site on Friday as it tries to conserve cash.

Faced with the prospects of dwindling revenue, Core Lithium shareholders might be losing interest in sticking around to find out what happens next.

Mining magnates missing in Core Lithium shares

Another ace up the sleeve of Kali Metals is its star-studded backing. Like Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) flaunting Gina Rinehart (owner of Hancock Prospecting) as a large shareholder, Kali Metals has found the support of MinRes founder Chris Ellison.

Given Ellison's success, speculators could be buying based on the vote of confidence through his 4.85% ownership in Kali. Furthermore, after recent takeover activity in the Aussie mining space, having a wealthy shareholder could come in handy if the newly listed company is approached down the track.

Meanwhile, Core Lithium shares lack any drawcards regarding mining magnates on its register. The downtrodden miner counts State Street Global Advisors and the Vanguard Group as its largest shareholders.

The post Why is Kali Metals soaring again while Core Lithium shares slide? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.