IGO shares have surged after the company secured the main equity funding needed to stage its entry into the lithium sector, all but confirming the second major piece of consolidation in a commodity class emerging from a period marred by oversupply.

IGO returned to trade after management told investors it had locked in $707 million in commitments from institutional investors paving the way for it to buy 49 per cent of Tianqi's interests in Australia, including a stake in the world's largest hard-rock lithium mine, Greenbushes.