MELBOURNE, June 26 (Reuters) - Element 25 Ltd (E25.AX) said on Monday it will supply manganese sulphate to General Motors Co (GM.N) as the automaker looks to secure supply of battery minerals for its North American electric vehicle production, sending its shares up more than 20%.
The deal is the second by General Motors for Australian battery minerals as automakers globally rush to secure supply.
Shares of Element 25 rallied as much as 23% before trading at A$0.69, up 15%.
GM will provide Element 25 with an $85 million loan to partially fund the construction of the facility for production of battery-grade manganese sulphate, the ASX-listed miner said.
Element 25 expects to invest about $290 million in total to build the facility, and it is scheduled to open in 2025.
Persons:
Harish Sridharan, Melanie Burton, Kim Coghill, Chris Reese
Organizations:
MELBOURNE, General Motors Co, General Motors, Queensland Pacific Metals, GM, Thomson
Locations:
Queensland, Louisiana, North America, Bengaluru, Melbourne