26 May 2015
European Lithium Limited
(‘European Lithium’ or the ‘Company’)
Update: Intention to seek AIM admission
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Intention to join AIM this summer and raise circa £5 million;
PrimaryBid to be appointed to allow retail participation in the fundraising through their online platform;
Important European lithium project, with historical exploration, existing mining licence in
place and exploring fast track plan to production;
IPO proceeds intended for the further development of the Company’s flagship Wolfsberg
lithium project in Austria;
Company aims to be a major lithium producer within Europe which is currently a net
importer and the second largest global market for lithium behind China; and
VSA Capital is acting as broker and sole bookrunner and ZAI Corporate Finance is acting as
proposed Nominated Adviser.
European Lithium, a mining exploration and development company, announces an update regarding
its intention to raise approximately £5 million and admit to trading on the AIM Market of the London
Stock Exchange this summer for the development of the Wolfsberg lithium project (the ‘Project’) in
Austria.
In addition to marketing to institutional investors this will be the first AIM IPO fundraising to utilise
the PrimaryBid platform, a trading name of Darwin Strategic Limited, which is regulated and
authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. PrimaryBid is an online platform which gives private
investors access to AIM company placings.
Use of Proceeds
European Lithium will use the net fundraising proceeds to further develop the Project, which is well
positioned in central Europe to supply lithium and by-product industrial minerals to the continental
European market which is where the majority of the demand is expected to originate.
Following admission to AIM, the Company intends to develop the Project by updating the resource
and commencing a pre-feasibility study, with the objective of completing these programmes by the
end of Q1 2016. Since it was founded in 1981 the Project has been subject to approximately 17,000
metres of drilling and 1,400 metres of underground mine development, extensive metallurgical
testing and trial mining by previous owners. In December 2013, the Company carried out a mining
campaign to obtain two 500 tonne bulk samples. The Company has a valid mining licence in place.
The Board believes that the Project is one of the most important lithium projects in Europe and that
it could be a major source of European lithium supply. Europe consumes approximately 24% of
global supply making it the second largest consumer of lithium globally.
Roskill1 reported that lithium demand had historically grown strongly, from approximately 68,000
tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”) in 2000 to approximately 150,000 tonnes LCE in 2012,
primarily through rechargeable lithium batteries capturing nearly 80% of the consumer electronics
market.
Roskill1 forecasted the medium term outlook for lithium consumption as strong with a base case
overall growth rate at just under 10% per annum because of increased use of rechargeable lithium
batteries for consumer electronics, in heavy power storage linked to renewable energy and
especially in the emerging electric vehicle market. However, in a high case scenario of surging
demand for lithium secondary batteries in electric vehicles and stronger global economic growth
Roskill1 forecasted an average growth rate of almost 16% per annum. This growth in demand from
batteries has been most recently evidenced by Tesla Motors Inc., which plans to build a US$5bn
lithium ion battery ‘GigaFactory’ in the U.S to supply batteries for their electric vehicles and home
and industrial power storage. This is expected to be the largest facility of its kind in the world requiring large quantities of lithium. The major European car manufacturers are also introducing a
range of electric vehicles that are capturing public attention.
ZAI Corporate Finance is acting as European Lithium’s proposed Nominated Adviser, and VSA Capital
is acting as broker and sole bookrunner.
Enquiries:
European Lithium
Steve Kesler, CEO
+44 (0)20 3696 4611
ZAI Corporate Finance
Tom Price / Irina Lomova
+44 (0)20 7060 2220
VSA Capital
Andrew Monk / Andrew
Raca/James Asensio
+44 (0)20 3005 5004
Tavistock
Financial PR/IR
Emily Fenton / Nuala Gallagher
Jos Simson
+44 (0) 207 920 3150
+44 (0) 7788 554 035
About European Lithium:
European Lithium owns the Wolfsberg lithium project which is located in Carinthia, 270 km south of
Vienna, Austria. The Project, founded in 1981 but not developed, is an underground mine with a
lithium bearing pegmatite resource and is well located in Central Europe with access to established
road and rail infrastructure to distribute lithium products to the major lithium consuming countries
of Europe.
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1 Roskill (Lithium Market outlook to 2017, 12 Edition, 2013)
About PrimaryBid
PrimaryBid is an online platform which provides private investors the opportunity to access AIM
company placings.
According to PrimaryBid, private investors constitute over 60% of average trading volume on AIM
but are typically excluded from fundraisings.
More information on European Lithium and the Project is available on its website
www.europeanlithium.com.
ENDS