Lithium explorer Bacanora Minerals Ltd (LON:BCN CVE:BCN) has pulled in heavyweight investor Blackrock as a substantial shareholder.

Funds managed by Blackrock have put up £7.7mln through a placing of 9.75mln units at 79p each. The units include warrants that if exercised would take the amount raised to £10mln. 

Bacanora wants the money to define more precisely its Sonora project in Mexico.

Currently, there is an indicated resource of 4.5 Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent. A pre-feasibility study in March indicated a net present value of US$776mln.

A fully funded feasibility study is now underway at Sonora, with the plan currently a two phase open-pit mine and lithium carbonate processing facility with a life of over 20 years.

Talks with Asian offtake partners, banks, debt providers and strategic investors are ongoing, it added.  

Peter Secker, Bacanora’s chief executive, said Blackrock was the second major institutional investor to join its shareholder register.

“In our view, raising £7.7mln at the prevailing share price in current market conditions is testament to the potential of the Sonora Lithium Project to be a major supplier to the lithium market.

“Thanks to lithium's key role in highly innovative industries such as smartphones, electric vehicles and energy storage, supply is expected to struggle to match continued rapid growth in demand for many years to come. “ 

Original Article: http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/126244