Idemitsu Australia (IA), through its newly formed subsidiary Idemitsu Lindfield Pty Ltd, has become a cornerstone investor in ASX listed Critical Minerals Group Limited (CMG), a vanadium and copper-gold focused company including the Lindfield Project located near Julia Creek in the North West Mineral Province of Queensland.
Today CMG has made its debut on the Australian Securities Exchange. The company completed an initial public offering (IPO), which raised AUD$5 million.
Through its IPO, CMG raised funds for the development of its flagship Lindfield vanadium project in an established mining region in Queensland. A total of 25 million shares were issued at 20 cents per share, giving the company an indicative market capitalisation of $8.8m (at the time of IPO). Idemitsu Lindfield will be the largest shareholder in the company once the IPO allocations are finalised, with just over 32 per cent of the shares.
The proceeds from the IPO will fund exploration activities and studies over the Lindfield Project tenement area to better define and develop the resource.
The critical minerals company and the Lindfield Project have recently benefited from the support of the Queensland Government through their investment in a vanadium processing facility in Townsville.
CMG’s Managing Director Scott Drelincourt said he was very pleased to have received strong support from Idemitsu Australia and the cornerstone investment would advance exploration across the company’s critical minerals portfolio while also underpinning the development of the Lindfield Project.
“Idemitsu’s strategic partnership and significant investment will allow us to add value to our shareholders while operating to the highest ESG standards. We believe that vanadium has a critical role to play in the future of energy and are delighted to have Idemitsu Australia as a cornerstone investor.
“Our partnership with Idemitsu provides the capital and direction to deliver the Lindfield Project and value to our shareholders. We are thrilled to have their strategic support.
“The Lindfield Project is at the exploration and development stage, with shallow JORC vanadium resources and already has existing road and rail within the project site, with direct transportation to the Port of Townsville,” Mr Drelincourt said.
While adoption of vanadium redox flow batteries has been relatively slow, representing just 10 per cent of the stationary battery market to date, the battery metal is widely expected to become a key resource as the world moves increasingly towards electrification to support net zero emissions.
Vanadium consumption in batteries is forecast to grow at an average compound rate of 41 per cent per year from 2022 to 2031.
Mr Steve Kovac, Chief Executive Officer Idemitsu Australia, said the company continues to invest in renewable and clean energy projects which create export opportunities for Australia and serve growing global demand for critical minerals.
“The growing demand for critical minerals is accelerating the global energy transition to an electrification and decarbonisation phase. Idemitsu’s strategic partnership and investment in Critical Minerals Group positions us well to meet this new economy mineral demand as the world turns towards a more advanced renewable future.
“Idemitsu Australia is proud of our strategic partnership and investment to bring critical minerals to market. We look forward to playing a key part as CMG delivers vanadium and other critical minerals projects, essential to delivering cleaner, greener energy as the world pursues a carbon neutral future,” he said.
Global production of vanadium, which is also used to strengthen steel, is expected to increase by as much as 50 per cent by 2030.
The Lindfield Project covers 295km2 in a well-known vanadium province just 30km northeast of Julia Creek in northern Queensland. It is close to main infrastructure facilities and is intersected by the Flinders Highway and the Great Northern Railway Line at the southern end of the tenement.
The Lindfield Project already has a number of drill holes that intersected promising grades within the shallow Toolebuc Formation along with an existing JORC Inferred resource of 210 million tonnes grading 0.39 per cent V2O5 that starts at surface down to around 35m depth. The shallow mineralisation lends itself to development via open pit mining, which could reduce mining costs due to low strip ratios.
CMG also holds applications for projects at Figtree Creek and Lorena Surrounds, both exciting greenfield copper-gold projects that support the company’s focus on critical mineral opportunities.
While vanadium is CMGs’ key focus, its copper-gold projects are exciting in their own right.