CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, OTCQX:CTLHF) executive chairman Dr Steve Kesler talked with Proactive about the company’s recent £2.4 million bookbuild, which saw strong support from existing institutional shareholders, including Athos, Regal Funds, and APAC. The funds will be used to progress the company’s lithium projects, with a focus on advancing towards a planned dual listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Kesler explained that the broker option included in the raise will allow additional shareholders to participate, with details to be announced via an RNS. He also discussed market conditions, noting that lithium prices remain low but are expected to recover due to structural supply deficits and growing demand, particularly from the electric vehicle sector.
With a strong news flow expected in the coming months, CleanTech Lithium anticipates updates on government negotiations, pre-feasibility studies, and product testing from its pilot plant. Kesler emphasized that the company is well-positioned for future growth, with production targeted for 2027-2028, when lithium prices are expected to stabilise at higher levels.
Proactive: Joining me is CleanTech Lithium executive chairman, Dr. Steve Kesler. Steve, very good to speak with you. You've just completed an accelerated £2.4 million book build, and it looks like there was strong support from your shareholders in Asia and Australia.
Dr. Steve Kesler: That's right, Stephen. Good afternoon. Yes, it was a very good reaction to our book build. We had almost exclusively existing shareholders participate in this raise. Major institutions like Athos, Regal Funds, APAC, RAB, Miton, and Orca all followed their money into this round. So, we're very pleased with the support from our existing shareholders.
Proactive: Steve, who led the book?
Dr. Steve Kesler: Dan Fox-Davies. Fox-Davies Capital Ltd has been our broker since before our AIM listing in 2022. He has largely led all of our capital raisings, including this one last night. He was the sole bookrunner for the raise.
Proactive: There’s also a broker option included in today’s announcement. Can you explain that?
Dr. Steve Kesler: Yes. We went largely to our existing institutional shareholder base for the £2.4 million raise, and all those funds will go towards progressing our projects. To enable new and existing shareholders to also participate, we put in place a broker option, which will be open for about two weeks.
There will be an RNS coming out shortly to provide details for shareholders who may feel they haven't been able to participate.
Proactive: Are your plans still going ahead to dual-list on the ASX in Australia?
Dr. Steve Kesler: Yes. We’ve had extensive discussions with our brokers and major shareholder, Regal. We believe the ASX is the best place for us to be dual-listed. Australia has a large number of analysts covering lithium, numerous lithium companies listed, and strong institutional funding for natural resource stocks.
We will use the funds raised to advance our projects and move towards the ASX listing.
Proactive: Are you seeing signs of recovery in the lithium markets at the moment?
Dr. Steve Kesler: It’s still a tough market. Most people recognize that there is a structural deficit in the lithium market coming. Right now, prices are at the bottom due to a perceived oversupply.
The U.S. and the EU have been slow in the uptake of electric vehicles, but growth is accelerating, particularly in China and Asia. Many analysts now suggest that lithium prices may recover sooner than expected.
It is widely acknowledged that the world needs new lithium projects, and new projects won’t happen unless the price is high enough to attract investment. The general view is that lithium prices need to be above $20,000 per tonne, not the $10,000 per tonne where they are today.
We expect to see prices beginning to recover between this year and next. Our production target is late 2027, with ramp-up in 2028, by which time we expect prices to have stabilized at a healthier level.
Proactive: For current and prospective investors, why invest in CleanTech Lithium now?
Dr. Steve Kesler: There are several reasons. We believe we are at the bottom of the lithium news cycle, and markets tend to move before commodity prices do. Investors who get in now could benefit from potential share price appreciation.
Our ASX listing and strong news flow in the coming months add to our investment appeal. The government is expected to declare which projects will move to direct negotiations at the end of March, and we believe we will be at the top of that list.
Additionally, we have a pre-feasibility study (PFS) coming soon, and we’ll be producing battery-grade material from our pilot plant to introduce to potential off-takers. The next few months will bring significant updates.
Proactive: Steve, I hope you'll keep us posted on any progress. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today.