- Patriot Battery Metals (TSX:PMET), a lithium miner developing a generational discovery in Quebec, has signed a C$69 million investment deal with Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car manufacturer
- The miner’s Shaakichiuwaanaan property houses the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas and the eighth-largest lithium pegmatite resource in the world
- Patriot Battery Metals is a hard-rock lithium exploration company advancing its district-scale 100-per-cent owned Shaakichiuwaanaan property in Quebec
- Patriot Battery Metals stock has given back 73.87 per cent year-over-year driven by slowing lithium and electric vehicle demand
Patriot Battery Metals (TSX:PMET), a lithium miner developing a generational discovery in Quebec, has signed a C$69 million investment deal with Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car manufacturer.
Volkswagen will purchase 15,557,500 Patriot shares priced at C$4.42 – a 66.7 per cent premium to the closing price of C$2.65 on December 17, 2024 – granting it a 9.9 per cent stake in the company. As per the deal, it will not be able to transfer the shares for two years and may increase its stake, subject to mutual agreement, contingent on development of Patriot’s flagship Shaakichiuwaanaan project in Quebec.
Shaakichiuwaanaan’s mineral resources are estimated at 80.1 million tons grading 1.44 per cent Li2O indicated and 62.5 million tons grading 1.31 per cent Li2O inferred, making it the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas and the eighth-largest lithium pegmatite resource in the world. The property hosts numerous other spodumene pegmatite clusters and significant areas of prospective trend that remain to be drill tested.
The deal also includes an offtake agreement with PowerCo, Volkswagen’s vertically integrated battery manufacturer, to supply 100,000 tons of spodumene concentrate per year for ten years with the potential for a five-year extension. The critical material will be used for battery cell production in Europe and North America, including PowerCo’s upcoming battery cell factory in St. Thomas, Ontario, which is expected to produce up to one million electric vehicles per year.
Patriot will use the funds for exploration, development and completion of a feasibility study at Shaakichiuwaanaan, in addition to general and working capital purposes. The investment is expected to close by mid-January 2025.
The news follows a flurry of activity from Volkswagen in the electric vehicle (EV) space, including becoming Europe’s largest EV manufacturer, making a US$5.8 billion investment in Rivian, revitalizing its Scout EV brand, and partnering with solid-state cell manufacturer QuantumScape.
Leadership insights
“We welcome Volkswagen and PowerCo as our strategic partner. This is a pivotal milestone for Patriot as we bring in a long-term strategic partner who is already a major participant in the European and North American battery supply chain as the first customer of the globally significant Shaakichiuwaanaan project,” Ken Brinsden, Patriot Battery Metals’ president, managing director and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “This investment is consistent with our long-term strategy for Patriot to become a global lithium leader and a key supplier of lithium raw materials to the emerging North American and European battery materials supply chains.”
“This investment represents a significant milestone in our journey toward a fully electric future,” added Thomas Schmall, a Volkswagen Group board member for technology. “By collaborating with Patriot Battery Metals, we are not only securing key raw materials for cutting-edge sustainable battery technology but also reinforcing our commitment to North America. Together with partners, we are building a dedicated e-mobility ecosystem in North America, ranging from battery technology to software and specific vehicle architectures.”
“This is an important milestone to becoming one of the leading providers of outstanding battery technology,” commented Jörg Teichmann, PowerCo’s chief procurement officer. “At the same time, it enables us to fulfil our aspiration of covering relevant steps along the entire value chain – from sourcing of raw materials to the operation of gigafactories.”
About Patriot Battery Metals
Patriot Battery Metals is a hard-rock lithium exploration company advancing its district-scale 100-per-cent owned Shaakichiuwaanaan property (formerly known as Corvette) in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec.
Patriot Battery Metals stock (TSX:PMET) last traded at C$2.65 per share. The stock has given back 73.87 per cent year-over-year driven by slowing lithium and EV demand.
Join the discussion: Find out what everybody’s saying about this lithium mining stock’s deal with Volkswagen on the Patriot Battery Metals Inc. Bullboard and check out the rest of Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
(Top photo of Patriot Battery Metals’ Shaakichiuwaanaan property in Quebec: Patriot Battery Metals)