PERTH (miningweekly.com) – US-based lithium products group Austroid Corporation is hoping to acquire the mothballed Bald Hill lithium mine, in Western Australia, from Alita Resources, which was previously known as Alliance Mineral Assets.

Alita went into administration in 2019, and Bald Hill was placed on care and maintenance.

Austroid said that subject to regulatory approvals, the company was ready to invest $60-million in new equipment, processing and construction at Bald Hill to enable the resumption of lithium concentrate production.

It is estimated that restarting Bald Hill would create at least 150 jobs in regional Western Australia, across Bald Hill and at the Port of Esperance.

As part of the arrangement to secure ownership of Bald Hill, Austroid has agreed to purchase a $70-million loan facility agreement between Alita and China Hydrogen Energy Limited (CHEL). CHEL had lent Alita the money in 2019 as part of a deed of company arrangement (DoCA) to restructure Alita’s affairs.

Austroid director Mike Que said Austroid’s decision to secure ownership of Bald Hill was driven by a desire to become a reliable and secure supplier of lithium concentrate into the North American market.

“Bald Hill is a quality asset that fits Austroid’s integrated lithium supply strategy to supply our own proposed lithium refinery in Nevada as well as third-party customers in the US.

“Importantly, Bald Hill’s location in a global tier 1 mining jurisdiction, with ready access to a highly skilled local workforce and suppliers, gives us the comfort to invest significant sums into resuming mining operations.

“The feedback from Bald Hill’s stakeholders and the broader communities in the Goldfields and Esperance regions on Austroid’s investment proposal has been overwhelmingly positive because they recognise the regional benefits and job opportunities, particularly as part of the post-pandemic economic recovery process,” said Que.

“We look forward to completing the approvals process, including sign-off from the West Australian and Federal Governments, before we set about resuming operations at Bald Hill as early as the first half of 2021.”

Austroid has proposed a DoCA to restructure Alita, which it hopes will win support of Alita’s administrators from McGrathNicol.

Austroid is also in the process of applying to the Foreign Investment Review Board for approval as part of the regulatory process.