Kidman settles Mt Holland dispute
KIDMAN Resources and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile’s (SQM) Mt Holland JV project has the green light to move forward now a dispute over key tenements has been resolved.
The dispute involved 13 key tenements at the project, where insufficient capital had been invested in site exploration under Government regulations before Kidman acquired the project in 2016.
In September, Kidman announced it had received notification from the Perth Mining Warden that applications for exemption from minimum expenditure on the relevant tenements be refused.
Kidman’s assessment of the previous owner’s expenditure shortfall was $102,771, which it said “was not material in the context of the opportunity that the Mt Holland project represents for all relevant stakeholders”.
On 10 December, the miner executed a deed of settlement with the objectors which “resolved the matter completely”, and all forfeiture applications would be dismissed.
“With the settlement concluded, funding secured through to final investment decision and our recent lithium hydroxide offtake agreements with Tesla, Inc. and Mitsui & Co. Ltd, we will be able to wholly focus on progressing the development of the Mt Holland lithium project, secure further strategic offtake agreements with key global partners and continue our discussions in relation to the provision of debt facilities with prospective lenders,” Kidman managing director and chief executive Martin Donohoe said.
Kidman said the specific terms of the settlement were confidential and “not material” to Kidman.
In June, Kidman made headlines as the first Australian miner to sign an offtake agreement with Elon Musk’s Tesla.
The binding agreement would see the miner supply lithium hydroxide to the electric vehicle maker over an initial three-year term on a fixed price, take-or-pay basis.
To date, Kidman and SQM have invested more than $55 million in the Mt Holland project, which was expected to create about 700 jobs during construction and 300 full time positions during operations.
WA Government royalties were also expected to be in excess of $1.7 billion.