Shares in the embattled All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) lithium stock ended the day on 30 August trading for 9 cents. At the closing bell on 30 September, shares were changing hands for 13 cents apiece, up a whopping 44.4%.

For some context, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gained 2.7% over the month.

Despite that stellar run, Core Lithium shares remain deep in the red over the past year.

Trading at 12 cents apiece at time of writing today, shares in the ASX lithium stock are down 71% over 12 months.

But you won't hear investors who bought shares at the end of August complaining.

Here's what spurred investor interest in September.

What sent Core Lithium shares flying higher?

Core Lithium shares surged higher over the month following a series of announcements that could lead to future growth.

On 2 September, the miner released an update on its uranium exploration campaign at its Napperby uranium project, located in the Northern Territory.

Core Lithium said the approvals process for resource extension drilling at Napperby was underway.

Core Lithium CEO Paul Brown noted, "Napperby is one of the few uranium projects with an existing Mineral Resource located in a jurisdiction favourable to uranium mining in Australia."

On 9 September, Core Lithium shares closed higher after releasing two new announcements.

The miner reported that it had entered into an agreement with Lithium Australia Ltd (ASX: LIT) to acquire a 9.8% stake in Charger Metals NL (ASX: CHR) from shares held by Lithium Australia.

Core Lithium also reported it had agreed to buy Lithium Australia's 30% interest in the Bynoe Project, near its Finniss Project, for $500,000.

One of the biggest daily gains of the month for Core Lithium shares came on 11 September, when the stock closed up 13.6%.

There were no price-sensitive announcements on 11 September. But as Motley Fool analyst Sebastian Bowen noted on the day:

Reports are circulating that a Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer, CATL, has suspended production at two of its lepidolite lithium mines.

If this proves to be the case, the closure of Chinese lithium mines would be good news for ASX lithium shares, as it would probably result in a reduction in supply and subsequently push up prices.

A week later, on 18 September, Core Lithium shares closed up 5.3% after the miner reported on promising gold exploration results at Shoobridge Project in the Northern Territory.

"Shoobridge is a prime example of the multi-commodity potential that exists across our Northern Territory exploration project," Brown said.

And Core Lithium ended the month with a bang, with shares closing up 30% on 30 September on no fresh news.

Now what?

After dipping to 12 cents a share at time of writing today, will Core Lithium shares continue to outperform?

Well, a lot of that is going to depend on how the miner's exploration pans out for gold and potentially for uranium. As for lithium, Core has mothballed Finniss production until the oversupply situation in the lithium market comes back into balance.

Several leading brokers believe the stock could fall from current levels.

In September, Ord Minnett had a sell rating on Core Lithium shares with a price target of 9 cents. Goldman Sachs has a neutral rating but with a price target of only 8 cents.

The post Core Lithium shares rocketed 44% in September! What can ASX investors expect now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the ASX lithium stock is down over 22% to 29.5 cents.

This is despite the company announcing a major deal with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO).

What's going on with this ASX lithium stock today?

This morning, Charger revealed that it has entered into a binding agreement with Lithium Australia Ltd (ASX: LIT) to purchase its minority interest in the Lake Johnston Lithium Project in Western Australia for $2 million. This increases Charger's interest in the project to 100%.

However, it has immediately given Rio Tinto the rights to earn a 75% ownership in the project via a farm-in agreement.

According to the release, the mining giant's subsidiary, Rio Tinto Exploration (RTX), will pay the ASX lithium stock $500,000 and invest $1.2 million prior to commencement of the farm-in. It will also spend a minimum of $3 million on exploration expenditure over the first 12 months.

After which, RTX can earn 51% by sole funding $10 million in exploration expenditure and paying Charger a further $1.5 million.

Finally, RTX will then be able to take its ownership to 75% interest by sole funding a further $30 million in exploration expenditure or completing a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).

Management believes that the RTX deal reaffirms the prospectivity of the Lake Johnston Lithium Project and its potential to host a large-scale lithium deposit. Though, it's a shame the ASX lithium stock will only ultimately have a minority stake in it.

Nevertheless, Charger's managing director, Aidan Platel, was pleased with the deal. He commented:

The Rio Tinto Exploration farm-in agreement is an excellent result for Charger and its shareholders and reaffirms our belief that the Lake Johnston Project has potential to host a large-scale lithium deposit. The planned significant investment by RTX will allow thorough systematic exploration over all of the project tenure, with initial exploration focused on fast-tracking the Medcalf Spodumene Prospect as well as progressing the Mt Day and Mt Gordon lithium prospects.

The post Guess which ASX lithium stock is crashing 22% despite announcing a deal with Rio Tinto appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Lithium Australia Ltd (ASX: LIT) is a small-cap ASX lithium share that most investors probably wouldn't have heard of. Until today that is. Lithium Australia shares are making headlines as the company records a whopping 81.8% share price gain.

Yep, Lithium Australia shares closed at 3.3 cents each last Friday. But today, the company opened at 4 cents before climbing to 6 cents at the time of writing.

So what on earth is going on here that might have prompted this potentially millionaire-making gain?

Why has this ASX lithium stock rocketed 80% today?

Well, it seems an exciting announcement the company put out before market open this morning is responsible for these massive share price gains.

Lithium Australia has just revealed it has entered into a joint venture agreement with the ASX resources powerhouse and lithium producer Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN).

Under this arrangement, Mineral Resources is set to fund "the development and operation of a pilot plant and an engineering study for a demonstration plant" at a cost of $4.5 million. Lithium Australia will then supply its 'LieNA' lithium extraction technology to the plant's production process.

When the plant development is completed, Lithium Australia and Mineral Resources will each own 50% of the joint venture, which will take ownership of the LieNA technology. After this, the venture "plans to license the LieNA technology to third parties at a target headline gross product royalty rate of 8%".

Here's some of what Lithium Australia CEO Simon Linge had to say on this news:

We are thrilled by the formation of a new partnership with Mineral Resources, one of Australia's largest and most prominent mining companies. MinRes is the perfect partner to complement our leading lithium extraction technology, given its extensive owned operations and strategic movement downstream into the battery materials sector.

Securing a development partner is also noted as a significant step within Lithium Australia's recently released roadmap and serves as a powerful validation of our patented technology. We are excited by the future opportunity to licence our proven high-value technology to all existing and new lithium mines across Australia and the rest of the world.

So it's clear that Lithium Australia investors are over the moon at his development, judging by the market's reaction over this ASX lithium share today.

Today's share price gains rescue Lithium Australia shares from the 40% loss they had been enduring in 2023 so far.

The post This tiny ASX lithium share is skyrocketing 80% amid deal with a mining giant appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the ASX lithium share is trading at 7.6 cents a share, down 8.43%.

What's powering down the Lithium Australia share price?

Investors are scrambling to sell Lithium Australia shares after the company provided an update on its recent equity raise.

In its release, Lithium Australia advised it has received firm commitments from investors to raise $12.1 million through a placement.

This will see the issue of roughly 185.77 million new ordinary shares at a price of 6.5 cents apiece. This represents a discount of 22% to the last closing price of 8.3 cents on 26 August, and a 21% discount to the 5-day and 10-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of 8.2 cents per share.

Existing shareholders, new high-net-worth sophisticated and institutional investors, including a director of the company, participated in the offer.

In addition, there is an attached one-for-two (1:2) option, with an exercise price of 10 cents per option. The expiry date is three years from date of issue.

The funds will be used to deliver safe recycling of spent battery volumes at Envirostream's operational facilities in Victoria. A national expansion study will also be undertaken during FY 2023. Envirostream is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lithium Australia.

Furthermore, the remaining funds will be allocated to complete engineering studies for the expansion of VSPC's current facilities. The latter is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lithium Australia.

It appears investors are bracing for an impending share dilution from the company, which is driving down the Lithium Australia share price.

What did management say?

Lithium Australia chair George Bauk touched on the strategic placement, saying:

We are very pleased with the strong support from existing and new shareholders for the capital raising. This funding puts us in a strong position to continue to progress our core opportunities of battery recycling and advanced cathode materials. This is an exciting time for the company and we look forward to delivering on our strategy.

The Lithium Australia share price has fallen almost 40% over the past 12 months and is down 34% year-to-date.

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