US-based Piedmont Lithium has announced it will sell a portion of shares it holds in Aim- and ASX-listed Atlantic Lithium to Atlantic’s biggest shareholder, Assore International.

The Nasdaq- and ASX-listed company will sell 24.3 million shares of Atlantic at £0.25 apiece, putting about $ 7.8 million in its coffers.

“We have always viewed our Atlantic shares as a potential source of capital and are pleased to further bolster our cash balance through this agreement,” said Piedmont Lithium president and CEO Keith Phillips.

The sale represents about 3.8% of Atlantic’s outstanding shares and will reduce Piedmont’s shareholding in the owner of the Ewoyaa project, in Ghana, to about 5.2%.

Assore, which previously sought to buy Atlantic, now owns about 28.4% of Atlantic.

The sale of these shares has no impact on Piedmont’s joint venture, earn-in, or offtake position with Atlantic or the Ewoyaa project.

“We remain confident about the potential of Ewoyaa as a logistically advantaged, low-cost producer of spodumene concentrate, but are taking a disciplined approach to deploying capital in the current lithium price environment and positioning ourselves for the recovery we anticipate in the lithium market,” said Phillips.

Piedmont’s goal is to become one of the biggest lithium hydroxide producers in North America by processing spodumene concentrate produced from assets where it holds an economic interest. Its projects include our Carolina Lithium and Tennessee Lithium projects in the US and partnerships in Quebec with Sayona Mining, and in Ghana with Atlantic Lithium.