The spin out of gold explorer Kalamazoo Resources, Kali Metals, has commenced trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The listing follows the company completing its heavily oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO), which raised the maximum $15 million through the issue of 60,000,000 offer shares at an issue price of $0.25 per share. The shares offered represent about 41.62 per cent of the shares on issue at listing.
In May 2023, Kalamazoo announced that it had entered into a shareholders agreement with Canadian gold miner Karora Resources to sell its non-gold exploration projects and mineral rights to Kali and the undertaking of the IPO.
Kali consists of the Australian lithium assets once owned by Kalamazoo combined with Karora Resources’ highly prospective lithium mineral rights across a range of projects located south of Kalgoorlie in WA.
“It is truly an exciting day for Kali shareholders, with the company successfully listing as a publicly traded company on the ASX,” Kali managing director Graeme Sloan said.
“We now look forward to creating shareholder value through the successful exploration of our portfolio of lithium projects in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. On behalf of the Kali board, I wish to thank all parties involved in the formation of the company and completion of this IPO.”
The arrangement intends to allow Kalamazoo to focus on the ongoing development of its gold assets in the Pilbara region of WA and in Victoria and pursuing new opportunities.
“We are delighted that the IPO of Kali Metals has been completed with (the company) commencing trading today on the ASX,” Kalamazoo chairman and chief executive officer Luke Reinehr said.
“Kali and its portfolio of high-quality lithium assets across Australia represents an outstanding opportunity for investors. The response from Kalamazoo shareholders and new and sophisticated investors through the IPO process, has been incredible with the maximum $15 million having been quickly raised.
“As a significant shareholder of Kali and with our shareholders also receiving an in-specie distribution of Kali shares, Kalamazoo is looking forward to the acceleration of exploration activities across Kali’s exploration projects in 2024.”
Sloan said the response to the IPO reflects the quality of Kali’s project portfolio, board, technical team and the current appetite for lithium exposure.
“It is a great time to become an ASX-listed lithium exploration company with activity in the sector high and the long-term fundamentals for the commodity strong,” he said.
“With the emergence of lithium as one of the most important critical minerals that will enable the global energy transition, this is an ideal time to provide investors with an opportunity to invest in a company with world-class projects in Tier-1 locations.
“We are excited about the potential that our project portfolio offers shareholders and the role Kali can play in the future growth of the lithium industry.”
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