CleanTech Lithium shares gain on full acquisition of Laguna Verde licences
() , a Chile-focused lithium explorer, announced the acquisition of 23 licences at its flagship Laguna Verde project in northern Chile, previously subject to an option agreement. With the acquisition, CleanTech gains full control of all 108 licences comprising the project.
The new sale and purchase agreement replaces the previous option agreement and caps payments to the vendors of the licences to a total of US$35m, with staged payments over 10 years. The initial payment of US$1.25m has been settled through a newly issued £1m convertible loan facility. The later contingent staged payments will be funded either as a small part of ~1% of the construction finance for Laguna Verde; or from sales revenues after sales of 10,000 tonnes and 35,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) have been achieved, estimated at approximately 2-3% of revenues from those volumes.
The move clears the path for CleanTech's planned dual listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, as it now has full ownership of the Laguna Verde licence area rather than control through an option agreement.
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CleanTech has taken full ownership and control of the 108 mining licences comprising its flagship Laguna Verde project in northern Chile. The capped payments provision reduces the dilution risk of the previous option terms, enhancing the project's value and potential long-term returns, especially given its advanced stage of development. The new agreement also provides clarity on the timing and amounts payable to the vendors as it no longer includes a subjective mechanism for calculating amounts due or involve any payments in ordinary shares. Moreover, gaining full ownership of Laguna Verde clears CleanTech to list on the ASX, adding to its existing AIM listing and enhancing exposure to Australian investors.
Staged payments to the vendors under the new agreement have already been budgeted under the project's normal development plan over a period of up to 10 years, with the first payment having been funded through an unsecured 3-year £1m convertible loan notes. The CLNs are on favourable terms and an attractive price of 30p, representing a significant premium to 's current share price. Based on the cashflow model outlined in the Laguna Verde scoping study, the 2 largest production-based payments are expected to account for only 2-3% of production revenue after sales of 10,000 tonnes and 35,000 tonnes of LCE.
The full acquisition of all 108 Laguna Verde licences also supports 's applications for CEOLs (development permits) in Chile in accordance with the government's updated mining policy. Permits should be granted by Q3 2024 per the government's official schedule. While the permitting process is underway, Laguna Verde's Pre-Feasibility Study and Environment Impact Assessment are progressing, being key value inflection points for the project in 2024.
shares climbed 4% on today's announcement.
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