- Lithium Carbonate Equivalent price surges 350 per cent since lithium mining royalty acquisition
- Post-tax net present value of Thacker Pass Project worth 58 per cent more than Trident’s own market capitalisation
- Gold royalty portfolio acquired on 19 per cent yield to purchase price
Commodity royalty group Trident Royalties (TRR:48p) pulled off the deal of the millennium last year. In March 2021, the group paid US$28mn (£20.7mn) for a 60 per cent interest in an existing gross revenue royalty over the Thacker Pass Lithium open mine project in Nevada, one of the largest known lithium deposits in North America. Thacker Pass is operated by Lithium Americas (CA: LAC), a well-funded Can$4bn market capitalisation mining group.
At the time, Thacker Pass contained Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy (CIM) compliant mineral reserves of 3.1m tonnes Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE), making it the largest lithium reserve in U.S.A, and one with an estimated mine life of 46 years based on LCE proven and probable reserves. However, the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) was close to 6m tonnes of LCE, thus offering resource upside to extend the mine life or support production expansion.