Australia's Talga Group enters partnership with Chile's SQM for Swedish project (updated)

Talga

21/06/2024 24:52

(Rewrites lede, updates with further details from paragraph 2
onwards)
       June 21 (Reuters) - Australia's Talga Group  TLG.AX 
said on Friday it has entered a binding earn-in agreement with
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A.  SQMA.SN  to fund the
exploration of its Aero Lithium Project in Sweden.
        Under the agreement, the battery materials and
technology company has granted SQM - the world's second-largest
lithium miner - to earn up to a 70% interest in the project for
a total of $19 million in expenditure.
  
        Lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries,
is globally recognised as crucial in the transition to renewable
energy as the world grapples with climate change.
  
        The agreement marks SQM's entry into the lithium mineral
resources in Sweden, especially after the battery metal was
classified as a strategic material in the EU Critical Raw
Minerals Act.
  
        Talga Managing Director, Mark Thompson, said the
partnership with SQM "provides an important chance to build a
European lithium supply for the green transition and EU
localisation objectives."
  
        The company said the agreement is subject to Swedish
foreign direct investment clearance.
  

 (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan
Barona)
 ((Shivangi.Lahiri@thomsonreuters.com;))