On October 10, Zijin Mining (601899) announced that it and Canadian Stock Exchange listed company Neo Lithium Corp on October 8. (hereinafter referred to as “New Lithium Company”) signs the “Arrangement Agreement”. Zijin Mining will acquire all of the issued and circulating common shares of the new lithium company in cash at a price of 6.5 Canadian dollars per share through a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated in Canada. The transaction amount is approximately 960 million Canadian dollars (approximately RMB 4.939 billion).

Zijin Mining is a large-scale multinational mining group that mainly focuses on exploration and development of metal mineral resources such as gold, copper, etc., and application research of engineering technology. The company was listed on Hong Kong H shares and Shanghai A shares as a whole, achieving operating income of 171.5 billion yuan and total profit of 10.8 billion yuan in 2020; in the first half of 2021, it achieved operating income of 109.9 billion yuan, total profit of 11.5 billion yuan, and total assets of 1987 billion yuan. According to the enterprise survey app, there are 327 companies that are indirectly owned by Zijin Mining.

According to the announcement, the new lithium company is a company registered under the commercial law of Ontario, Canada. It is mainly engaged in exploration and mineral resource development in Argentina. The company's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange's venture sector (TSXV: NLC), and is also listed and traded on the US OTCQX over-the-counter trading market (code: NTTHF) and the German Frankfurt Exchange (code: NE2).

The core asset of the new lithium company is Argentina's Tres Quebradas Salar (“3Q”) lithium salt lake project located in the famous “lithium triangle” of South America. In addition, the 3Q project is a high-quality salt lake lithium resource with large size, high grade, low impurities and good development conditions. The lithium extraction process technology is mature, the cost is low, and the service life of the project is long.

New Lithium owns Project 3Q through its wholly-owned subsidiary Liex S.A., which was established in Argentina. The project is located at the southern end of South America's “lithium triangle” and covers an area of 3,500 N0 hectares. However, the salt lake is currently the third-highest grade salt lake brine lithium extraction project in the world. The magnesium-lithium ratio is only 1.7, and the resource advantage is obvious.

Zijin Mining said that lithium is a strategic mineral for new energy and is a strategic resource determined by the company's board of directors to be expanded. In the past, the company has been engaged in the development of non-ferrous metal minerals such as gold, copper, zinc, etc., and has developed strong competitiveness and influence in the industry. Relying on the company's mining development and technical advantages in chemicals, metallurgy, environmental protection, etc., it has further expanded strategic minerals related to new energy, which is in line with the company's strategy, expands the company's development space, and constructs all new fields, which is conducive to the company's sustainable development.