Lithium Power International Limited provided an update on the consolidation of 100% ownership of LPI's Maricunga lithium brine project in Chile. As announced on 22 June 2022, the company entered into definitive binding agreements to consolidate ownership of Maricunga via two all scrip mergers with its joint venture partners Minera Salar Blanco SpA and Bearing Lithium Corp. MSB SpA has now contributed its 31.31% interest in Maricunga to Delaware company, Salar Blanco, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of MSB SpA.

The second court hearing for the scheme with SBD has now been conducted, and the court has approved the scheme. LPI is progressing to complete the merger with SBD to consolidate MSB SpA's 31.31% interest in Maricunga. The transaction with Bearing for its 17.14% interest will be completed by way of a Canadian Plan of Arrangement, which has been approved by Bearing Shareholders and the Canadian court.

The final condition to the Bearing Transaction is the completion of the SBD Transaction. Now that the court has approved the scheme for the SBD Transaction, the completion process for the Bearing Transaction will commence. It is expected this will complete by 22 December, resulting in LPI taking ownership of 100% of Maricunga.

The Maricunga Project is located 170km north-east of Copiapó in Salar de Maricunga in the Atacama Region of northern Chile. In January 2022, LPI announced the results of its updated Definitive Feasibility Study for the Stage One Maricunga Lithium Brine Project1, which supports 15,200 t/a production of battery grade lithium carbonate for 20 years. The DFS provides for a project NPV of $1.4 Billion (after tax) at an 8% discount rate, providing an IRR of 39.6%, a 2-year payback and estimated steady-state annual EBITDA of US$324 million.

The study confirmed that Maricunga could be one of the world's lowest-cost producers of lithium carbonate, with an operating cost of US$3,718 per tonne not including revenue credits from a potassium chloride by-product. The project will have an exceptional ESG profile, aiming to achieving carbon neutrality once the operation beds down, setting new standards for social relationships.