PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium hopeful James Bay Minerals has closed its initial public offering (IPO) early after completing a successful book-build to raise A$6-million.

“We are absolutely delighted by the strong response from investors, which saw us achieve our A$6-million maximum subscription ahead of schedule. This strong interest from investors reflects the exceptional outlook for the lithium market and the outstanding credentials of the James Bay region as a lithium exploration hotspot,” said executive director Andrew Dornan.

James Bay holds a number of properties in the La Grande greenstone belt, and has the option to acquire a 100% interest in one of the largest lithium exploration portfolios in the La Grande Sub Province, covering 22 438 ha.

“Mergers and acquisitions within the global lithium sector is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of activity–and the James Bay region in Quebec is front and centre of this. Recent major news emanating from this exciting district includes significant upgrades to lithium resources at Allkem’s James Bay asset, Patriot Battery Metal’s maiden resource for its CV5 asset and Sayona’s recent investment to acquire the lithium rights near our Troilus Project. All of this vindicates our strategy to focus on the James Bay area as the next major global frontier for hard rock lithium discoveries of scale.

“James Bay Minerals’ key properties are all located in close proximity to major recent discoveries and exhibit all the key geological characteristics required to host major spodumene deposits. We are looking forward to unlocking this potential with focused, systematic and aggressive exploration programmes that will commence immediately upon completion of our ASX listing.”

Following its IPO, the company is now preparing for its listing on the ASX, which is expected by September 7.