De Grey Mining feeling the pressure over Pilbara lithium belt

De Grey Mining’s shareholders are looking to extract value from its lithium tenements.

De Grey Mining’s shareholders are continuing to put pressure on it to extract value from its tenements in the Pilbara lithium belt, with the motivating factor being that it will have to raise less equity down the track for its flagship Hemi Gold Project.

The Australian reported on November 23 that the company was considering a spin-out of the tenements, which are close to the Tabba Tabba lithium project of Wildcat Resources, backed by Chris Ellison.

Their exact value is still unclear. Some think a sale may enable it to pocket about $100m to put towards its 10 million ounce Hemi gold discovery in the Pilbara. De Grey has tapped the market in September for $300m to advance its Hemi Gold Project.

With Gold Road Resources on its register and global gold miners looking for opportunities, some had earmarked De Grey as a takeover target, but now that it has secured funds from the raising and offered more confidence over the future prospects of Hemi Gold, it’s seen as less likely in the short term.

Should De Grey achieve a solid price for its lithium tenements, it calls into question whether the $100m Calidus Resources could re-rate, given its proximity of its Pirra Lithium project to the Wildcat project.

Chilean lithium giant SQM has a 30 per cent interest in its Pirra Lithium project in October.