Charlotte-region lithium mine set as a ‘key project’ in Piedmont Lithium merger

North Carolina’s Piedmont Lithium and Australia’s Sayona Mining are merging, and a planned lithium mine in the Charlotte region will be “a key project,” company officials said Tuesday.

Piedmont, based in Belmont, and Sayona already jointly own North America Lithium project in Quebec, Canada.

“This merger combines two complementary businesses and will create a larger and stronger company,” Piedmont Lithium’s CEO Keith Phillips said in a statement.

The deal will create the largest producer of hard-rock lithium in North America, according to the companies.

The estimated market capitalization of the merged company is valued at $623 million, the companies’ merger presentation document shows.

Sayona Mining will become the parent company and the Belmont office will be its U.S. headquarters, said Phillips, who will become a strategic advisor during the transition. Sayona’s Lucas Dow will become CEO of the new company.

Lithium is used in batteries to power electric vehicles, bikes and personal electronic devices. But the price of lithium has continued to fall with slowing EV sales, causing companies to consolidate and delay projects.

Merger details

Piedmont and Sayona’s deal will create a nearly 50-50 equity holding split, according to the companies’ news releases.

To support the merger, Piedmont and Sayona will raise $54 million, the companies said.

The merger is expected to be complete in the first half of next year, pending shareholder approvals. A new company name also will be decided at that time, Piedmont spokeswoman Erin Sanders said.

The value of the companies was not disclosed.

Carolina Lithium a key project

Only 2% of the world’s lithium is available in the U.S., and North Carolina is among only a few places in the world where lithium mining is possible.

Piedmont announced three years ago that it was planning a $1.2 billion lithium mine on over 1,500 acres east of Cherryville, about 25 miles west of Charlotte.

“It’s one of two U.S. spodumene projects under development right now so it remains a key project,” Sanders said. Large green areas in white pegmatite rock called spodumene are extracted to make lithium.

The other site is Albemarle Corp.’s project reopening a dormant lithium mine in Kings Mountain. Albemarle is the world’s largest lithium miner.

Lithium struggles

Both Piedmont and Albemarle have struggled as lithium prices plummeted.

Last week, Piedmont said it was cutting more jobs as part of its cost-savings. This year, Piedmont has cut 48% of its workforce and now has less than 30 employees.

Albemarle said earlier in November it was taking additional cost-saving steps following a loss of more than $1 billion as lithium prices continue to fall, which included laying off nearly 500 employees. In January, the company detailed a more than $750 million cost-cutting plan, that included an undisclosed number of job cuts.

More about Piedmont Lithium and Sayona

Piedmont also is working on a lithium mining project in Ghana with Atlantic Lithium. The company shelved its Tennessee project plan in August to focus on Carolina. Piedmont last week reported nearly $28 million in revenue in third quarter this year.

Sayona reported $201 million in revenue in its annual report in August. Along with its North American project, Sayona has lithium assets in Australia.

This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 8:19 AM.