The funds will enable the company to expand activities in south-west England and to drill exploratory boreholes to extract samples of lithium-bearing brines.
The carmaker will use a blockchain-based platform to trace supplies of cobalt from a Chinese-owned mine in the Congo for the batteries in its electric cars, in an effort to ensure they are not linked to human rights abuses.
Last week it was reported that the Chinese government published new guidelines designed to eliminate illegal mining and encourage more high-end processing.