Investors have jumped on board MetalsTech after Chinese lithium-ion battery chemicals producer Wuxi Baichuan Chemical Industrial Company took a 10 per cent stake in the Canada-focused lithium and cobalt play.
Wuxi is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and specialises in the production of hi-tech fine chemicals. It has a market cap of approximately $5.5 billion. MTC has a market cap of around $9 million.
MetalsTech (ASX: MTC) surged as much as 56 per cent to an intraday high of 28c before closing at 23c, up 35 per cent.
Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed Wuxi will subscribe for 10 million escrowed MTC shares at 18c per share to raise $1.8 million.
MTC will also help Wuxi buy up to a further 5 million shares by introducing it to investors seeking to sell down their MTC shares.
A further 5 million shares will bring Wuxi’s stake in MTC to 15 per cent at which point it can take a seat on the board.
Meantime, MTC has raised a further $756,000 from a placement to sophisticated and institutional investors.
Strategic alignment with a lithium-ion battery chemicals producer allows the company to look beyond spodumene concentrate production and towards investigating downstream processing opportunities, MetalsTech executive chairman Russell Moran said.
Funds will go towards continued resource definition and feasibility studies at its Cancet lithium project and maiden drilling at the Adina lithium project in Canada.
MetalsTech will also explore plans for a lithium carbonate and hydroxide beneficiation plant in Quebec to process spodumene concentrate from its projects.