MinRes edges closer to Bald Hill lithium buy

Mineral Resources has inched a step further in closing a deal to take control of the Bald Hill lithium mine, with a share sale agreement with Alita Resources liquidators now unconditional.

Liquidators at McGrathNicol had been pursuing a waiver from the Singapore Stock Exchange that would allow them to skip securing shareholder approval from Alita Resources to sell the company to Mineral Resources.

A shareholder update last week confirmed a share sale agreement with MinRes had been struck following an order by the Supreme Court of Western Australia on the day that Alita, whose main asset is the Bald Hill lithium mine in the Goldfields, was placed into liquidation.

That move cleared the way for MinRes to get the ball rolling on buying the mine.

Per an update to the exchange on Tuesday, liquidators said they had withdrawn the waiver request to the exchange asserting that shareholder approval did not apply in the sale of Alita.

It means the share sale agreement between MinRes and liquidators for Alita and its Bald Hill mine is now unconditional, with the pair working towards completing the deal by November 1.

"As the condition precedent for the SGX Waiver is not necessary, the parties have agreed to waive it," the SGX statement from McGrathNicol read. 

"The SSA is now unconditional, and the liquidators and MinRes will work towards completion of the SSA on November 1 2023, unless otherwise agreed by the parties."

Remaining terms of the proposed transaction are still not known following orders from WA’s Supreme Court.

McGrathNicol was appointed administrators of Alita Resources - which operated the Eastern Goldfields-located Bald Hill mine - in December 2020, amid a downturn in lithium prices.

A US-based, Chinese linked company named Austroid, which is a secured creditor of Alita, had sought to buy the company and Bald Hill mine, but was blocked by the federal government’s Foreign Investment Review Board in July 2023.

Angling to have the asset in Australian hands, MinRes had previously alleged the mine was operating at a loss under current arrangements.

Should the deal go ahead, Bald Hill would add to MinRes' fast-growing lithium portfolio, which at present includes Wodgina and Mt Marion.

MinRes managing director Chris Ellison has also recently stationed himself as non-executive chairman of explorer Delta Lithium, which has been developing a project in WA's Mt Ida region.

Under the proposed share sale agreement, MinRes is to buy all shares in Alita subsidiary Tawana Resources, which owns all shares in Lithco, the owner and operator of the Bald Hill mine.