Australian miner Galaxy Resources said on Wednesday it is in informal talks with multiple parties about supplying lithium for batteries, but denied media reports of an agreement with Panasonic.
The company said in a stock exchange filing that it was “engaged in discussions with a number of parties in the battery supply chain, including Panasonic” but said the discussions were “at this stage informal”.
Galaxy added it was in discussions with car manufacturers over the long-term supply of lithium, but said these talks were also at the informal stage. Galaxy’s share price had closed 5.8 per cent higher on Tuesday following a report in the Australian Financial Review that it had signed an agreement with Panasonic, which supplies batteries to electric car maker Tesla.
The statement from Galaxy comes after Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor said in September it will take a 3.5 per cent stake in Australian lithium producer Pibara Minerals for around A$28m ($21.9m).
Galaxy Resources shares were up 1.4 per cent at noon in Sydney. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.9 per cent.
Source: www.ft.com
