Piedmont Lithium to invest in Newfoundland lithium project

Piedmont Lithium on Wednesday announced it would invest around C$2 million ($1.5 million) in cash in a prospective lithium project in Newfoundland, Canada.

Piedmont Lithium will acquire a 19.9% interest in Vinland Lithium, which owns Killick Lithium, the company said in a statement.

Vinland Lithium is formed by a partnership between Piedmont and exploration-based companies Sokomon Minerals and Benton Resources.

Piedmont could also earn up to a 62.5% equity interest in the new project through staged investments.

Company officials told Reuters last year that its first steps in securing lithium supplies would likely be in Canada or Ghana.

“While we help fund exploration activities at Killick Lithium, our projects and operations teams remain focused on the ongoing development of our core portfolio, including the producing North American Lithium mine in Quebec and our planned operations in Ghana, Tennessee, and North Carolina,” Piedmont chief operating officer Patrick Brindle said in the statement.

The Killick Lithium property in Newfoundland totals 950 square kilometers and holds spodumene-bearing pegmatite.

($1 = 1.3598 Canadian dollars)

(By Seher Dareen; Editing by Varun H K)