Savannah Resources PLC (AIM:SAV, XETRA:SAV, OTC:SAVNF) shares climbed around 10% in Wednesday morning's trade, with an operational update coming in the wake of a recent oversubscribed £9.8 million fundraise.
The small-cap firm highlighted that global lithium demand has strengthened, with spodumene prices rising to about USD 1,100 per tonne, and flexed its apparent financial wherewithal as it looks toward value-adding activity.
Savannah said it now holds about $27 million in cash, and that it is making progress on project financing for the Barroso Lithium Project in Portugal.
“The recent oversubscribed fundraise gives us fresh impetus to push on with the development of our project,” said chief executive Emanuel Proença.
It also noted a recent site visit by KfW IPEX-Bank as part of due diligence into a potential German Government-backed loan of up to $270 million.
"We remain busy on all project-related fronts ... While we focus on the many tasks at hand, the lithium market continues to improve. The spodumene price particularly has responded well to increased demand coming from downstream in recent months and has nearly doubled since the end of June, with a dramatic acceleration this last week as the market tightens.
"This trend is consistent with Savannah's view that lithium markets will remain volatile but persistently tight for years to come."
Savannah confirmed also that it is finalising the acquisition of the Aldeia Mining Lease, which contains a JORC resource of 3.5 million tonnes grading 1.30% Li₂O.
In London on Wednesday, Savannah shares were up just over 10% changing hands at 3.8p.