Gina Rinehart has teamed up with a Chilean miner to take control of a prized lithium asset in the mineral-rich Pilbara, creating a path for Australia’s richest person to become a major producer of the key metal used in electric vehicle batteries.
Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) lodged a $1.7bn bid for Azure Minerals, according to a stock exchange announcement on Tuesday.
It marks the latest twist in the fight to take over a lithium asset that has attracted significant interest but remains largely untested.
The deal, backed by the Azure board unless a higher offer emerges, comes amid a rush of dealmaking in Western Australia for lithium, a metal highly sought after by miners.
Lithium prices have fallen sharply over the past 12 months, after the rate of global EV sales failed to meet expectations amid rising interest rates and cost of living pressures.
Hancock, an iron ore miner, and SQM, a global lithium producer, are Azure’s two largest shareholders, holding almost 40% of shares before the deal. SQM had previously tried to buy the asset on its own.
“This powerful partnership brings together the complementary skills of our respective companies across West Australian mining exploration, development, operation and processing for the long term,” said Hancock’s chief executive, Garry Korte.
The Rinehart-led Hancock, one of Australia’s largest private companies, also has interests in other battery minerals companies such as Liontown Resources.
The billionaire miner has been a vocal critic of any costs of net zero policies on the agricultural sector.
Her recent dealmaking suggests she wants to partner with experienced miners to develop several lithium-producing revenue streams in Australia’s west, with EV demand widely expected to underpin future prices.
Azure shareholders have benefited enormously from the interest in their company and its flagship Andover project, with investors set to take home $3.70 a share. One year ago, Azure shares were trading at less than 30c.
“The transaction delivers a fantastic outcome for Azure shareholders, including a significant uplift in value from the original SQM transaction despite elevated market volatility and the recent deterioration in lithium prices,” Azure’s managing director, Tony Rovira, said.
