ioneer Ltd began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market in the US today, under an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program.
Following this secondary listing, North American investors can now support the clean energy supply chain and the US domestic electrification revolution via the ADR.
Notably, ioneer shares changed hands for as high as US$17.63 on the first day of trading, under the symbol IONR.
“Greater visibility”
ioneer managing director Bernard Rowe said of the listing: “We believe this secondary listing will be greatly beneficial to the company and its shareholders.
“There is a growing desire among North American investors to take part in the clean energy supply chain.
“We are pleased ioneer will gain greater visibility through a leading North American capital market trading platform that is suited for future-forward companies like ours.”
Major domestic supplier for Lithium
As a critical mineral in powering electric vehicles (EV), global demand for lithium is rapidly increasing as countries like the US shift resources to drive a successful transition to a clean energy future
The Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron operation, expected to come onstream in 2025, will become a major domestic supplier of refined lithium and boron products, with enough supply of lithium materials for approximately 400,000 electric vehicles each year.
ioneer executive chairman James Calaway said: "Rhyolite Ridge is a world-class lithium project and ioneer is ideally positioned to play a major role in the energy transition.
“We believe making it easier for North American capital market participants to invest in ioneer is consistent with our ambition to produce materials necessary to develop electric vehicle and renewable energy supply chain infrastructure in North America.”
Strong US presence
ioneer has undertaken significant work in recent years to further establish its presence and bolster its team in the US.
This includes appointing two additional US-based board members and several senior hires in Nevada.
Most of the team, half of the ioneer Board, and close to a quarter of the company’s shareholder base are US-based.
Key agreements
In September 2021, ioneer established a joint venture with international mining company Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd. to develop Rhyolite Ridge. Sibanye-Stillwater agreed to contribute $490 million for a 50% interest in the Joint Venture, with ioneer to maintain a 50% interest and retain operatorship.
ioneer has also entered into a lithium offtake agreement with EcoPro Innovation related to over 30% of its lithium production and Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with multiple US-based companies to support the development of the US EV supply chain.
These include an MOU with Dragonfly Energy, a lithium-ion battery technology company based in Reno, Nevada as announced in December 2020 and an MOU with NexTech Batteries, a lithium-sulphur battery technology company based in Carson City, Nevada as announced in March 2022.
ioneer has also entered into a depositary agreement with The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK)”) under which BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK) would act as depositary, custodian and registrar for the ADRs.