Bacanora Lithium PLC (LON:BCN) has received £21.8mln from Sonora Lithium Ltd (SLL) after Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd exercised a share option.
The news comes after authorities in the People's Republic of China approved their joint venture.
READ: Bacanora Lithium starts early site works at Sonora Lithium Project
SLL, the holding company for the Sonora Lithium Project, has now issued 73.9mln new ordinary shares to Ganfeng, which now owns 50% of SLL.
Bacanora said the funds will be applied towards the development of the project, located in Mexico.
The board of SLL now comprises two Bacanora appointed directors and two Ganfeng appointed directors, with the chairman being one of the Bacanora directors.
Bacanora, the operator of the project, said it has now commenced pre-development work on site, while Ganfeng will be responsible for leading the engineering and procurement for the battery grade lithium hydrometallurgical processing plant.
Last month, the AIM-listed firm signed a new joint venture agreement with its cornerstone investor and offtake partner, Ganfeng.
"We are pleased that the approvals have now been received and that Ganfeng has completed the exercise of its option,” said Bacanora’s chief executive Peter Secker in a release.
“The finalising of the engineering work with Ganfeng is proceeding well and we look forward to updating the market with further news as we head towards the start of construction."
Shares advanced 5% to 43.98p on Monday at the opening bell.