Newly-Listed Lithium Firm Secures 100% Stake in Spanish Projects

IberAmerican Lithium Corp. (IBER:NEO) is a Canada-based hard-rock lithium exploration company. Since its IPO earlier this month, it has been focused on advancing its 70% owned Alberta II & Carlota Properties located in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain.

The Galicia region projects are accessible by roads and highways, sitting only 1.7 kilometers from all-weather road access. These properties are located approximately 28 km east of the deep-sea port city of Pontevedra and are well located for access to the European market, where demand for lithium is increasing as green directives drive a variety of vibrant economies.

Spain has launched multiple initiatives facilitating sustainable energy growth, focusing on giga-factories manufacturing electrification and decarbonization technologies. With four more giga-factories in the pipeline, the country is on track to become one of the largest lithium battery producers in Europe.

The Catalyst: Securing 100% Ownership

On September 28, IberAmerican Lithium announced that it had secured 100% ownership rights to its projects in Galicia. This acquisition puts the company in complete control of the deposits and allows it to see 100% of any revenues it generates.

In light of this news, CEO Campbell Becher said, "We are very pleased to now hold 100% of the rights to the Lithium Projects. This will make future financing easier and obtainable and gives us sole control over the exploration and development of the projects."

Once permits are secured, IberAmerican plans to launch an exploration program in Q4 2023 at its lithium project in Spain. The initial phase will consist of 40-50 diamond drill holes targeting spodumene mineralization in the northern section of the Alberta II permit area. This builds on previous drilling done in 2012 to further delineate resources. Concurrently, extensive geological sampling will be undertaken across promising southern zones of Alberta II.

Becher said, "We eagerly anticipate kicking off this substantial exploration campaign and look forward to announcing the initial findings from drilling and surveys in Q1 2024."

Why This Market? Green Economies Need Lithium

Lithium is an important element of electric vehicle batteries, where it's used as both a cathode and an electrolyte. The white metal with highly reactive and flammable properties is also used to strengthen alloys, as a high-temperature lubricant, and as a drug to treat bipolar disorder.

According to recent reporting in Intereconomics, "In her State of the Union address in September 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recognized how raw materials like lithium and rare earths are increasingly 'replacing gas and oil at the heart of our economy and that the EU, faced with growing demand and high market concentration, should avoid 'falling into the same dependency as with oil and gas.'"

Part of avoiding such dependency will involve exploiting significant caches of lithium already located in Europe, including the Galacia projects that IberAmerican Lithium is already developing.

Becher said, "We eagerly anticipate kicking off this substantial exploration campaign and look forward to announcing the initial findings from drilling and surveys in Q1 2024."

As the article goes on to explain, "In the EU alone, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre expects lithium consumption to increase 9 to 12 times by 2030, and up to almost 21 times by 2050, driven almost entirely by the uptake of e-mobility."

In March of this year, Andy Home, reporting for Reuters, explained that "The European Union has unveiled the accelerator in its drive to reduce the bloc's import dependency for critical minerals and metals. The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) 'will significantly improve' Europe's domestic extraction, processing, and recycling capacity for metals such as lithium and rare earths, according to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission."

"The Act comes with targets for production and for reducing dependency on any single third country. China currently dominates the supply chain for many of the entries on Europe's list of 'strategic' metals."

The lithium market is expected to grow from US$37.8 billion globally in 2022 to US$89.9 billion in 2030, according to a report by Fortune Business Insights.

Why This Company? Fully-Owned Lithium Holdings In the EU

IberAmerican has an experienced management team that's built around what it considers to be an undervalued asset. Spain is a great mining jurisdiction, with little conflict and the type of first-world infrastructure required to rapidly bring extracted lithium to market.

IberAmerican Lithium is a hard-rock lithium company, mining the element primarily from spodumene. "Hard rock spodumene mines have taken the mantle as the largest source of lithium raw materials thanks to the speed with which they've been able to ramp up in response to fast-moving prices and market enthusiasm," according to an article on Stockhead.

Grades of above 1% lithium oxide (Li2O) are considered the benchmark for peak productivity, and IberAmerican Lithium's drill tests at the Galacia projects have included strikes of 6.52 meters of 1.06% Li2O, 8.5 meters of 1.09% Li2O, and 10.84 meters of 1.24% Li2O.

Why Now? Newly Trading

On September 19, IberAmerican announced that it had begun formal trading on the Neo Exchange (dba Cboe Canada). The company, formerly known as 1317198 BC Ltd., announced it had completed its reverse takeover transaction with IberAmerican Lithium Inc., a privately held lithium exploration and development company.

At the time, IberAmerican Director and Chief Executive Officer Campbell Becher said, "We are very excited to be listed on Cboe Canada, an innovative exchange that aligns seamlessly with our mission to drive clean energy. The public listing of IberAmerican not only demonstrates our commitment to advancing sustainable solutions but also reflects the growing importance of electrification in furthering the global energy transition." 

Upcoming catalysts include drilling at six veins that have only been sampled at the surface, infill drilling, detailed mapping, and a further 15,000-meter drill program of approximately 43 drill holes with two rigs. The company also plans to relog historical spodumene core intercepts from the projects that were misidentified as quartz. Assays of the previous cores are expected this fall, with the initial results of the wider drill program coming early in the new year.

Ownership and Share Structure

At IPO, the company had a starting market of CA$27,375,122, with 109,500,488 shares outstanding, 9,450,000 options, and 18,225,244 warrants expiring September 1, 2026.

About 36% of the company is held by insiders, including CEO Becher, Director and Chairman Eugene McBurney, and Director Miguel del Campa.

About 25% of the company is in institutions, including Delbrook Resource Opportunities Master Fund LP (Grandy Cayman Islands), Jayvee & Co., CI Resource Opportunities Class, and Delbrook Resources Opportunities Fund (Vancouver).

The rest is retail.

The company currently has CA$9,112,623 in the bank, with a monthly burn rate of CA$150,000.

Important Disclosures:

1. IberAmerican Lithium Corp. has a consulting relationship with an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, and pays a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000..
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of IberAmerican Lithium Corp. 
3. Owen Ferguson wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor.
4. The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

For additional disclosures, please click here.