Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN) has a new substantial shareholder in Shanghai-based Chia Tai Xingye International which has accumulated a 12.27% stake.
On June 20 Chia Tai Xingye participated in a placement, purchasing 27.5 million shares valued at $1.65 million.
The placement of 27.5 million shares priced at 6 cents took the strategic investor’s holding to 67.5 million shares.
READ: Anson Resources raises $1.6 million from strategic investor Chia Tai Xingye
This has demonstrated Chia Tai Xingye’s support of Anson’s Paradox Brine Project in the US and its future as a source of lithium carbonate chemicals.
The company’s ongoing test work for the Paradox project in Utah along with a recent resource estimate are generating interest.
As well as the Chia Tai Xingye placement, Anson has placed more than 4.545 million shares to a sophisticated investor at 5.5 cents per share raising $250,000.
Two performance rights hurdles have also been passed resulting in the issuance of a further 3.2 million shares.
READ: Anson Resources reveals maiden brine resource at Paradox
One hurdle was the successful completion of bench-top test work to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent and the other was establishing a JORC or NI43-101 equivalent compliant resource.
Test work produced about 1-kilogram of 99.9% pure battery-quality lithium carbonate from brine sourced at the project.
This was achieved in benchtop test work as part of the design and engineering of Anson’s planned in-field pilot plant.
The maiden JORC-compliant resource for the project is 128.56 million tonnes of brine grading 173ppm lithium, 414ppm boron, 3,321ppm bromine and 166.5ppm iodine.
This results in an estimate of 118,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate, 304,442 tonnes of boric acid, 426,852 tonnes of bromine and 21,400 tonnes of iodine.
The placement funds follow a $15 million equity facility with energy and resources focused investment company, Long State Investment Limited.
Funds from this facility may be used for lithium carbonate production work and for a pre-feasibility study Anson plans to undertake in early 2020.