MinterEllison has advised Huayou International Mining (Hong Kong) Limited (Huayou) on the acquisition of the Arcadia Lithium Project (Arcadia Project) from a subsidiary of Prospect Resources Limited (Prospect) and other minority shareholders. This was for a total cash consideration of US$422,000,000 (approximately AU$612,000,000).

Huayou is a subsidiary of new energy lithium-ion battery material producer, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Limited (Huayou Cobalt). Huayou Cobalt specialises in research, development, and manufacturing new energy lithium-ion battery materials and new cobalt materials.

The Arcadia Project, located near Harare in Zimbabwe, is considered one of the world's largest hard rock lithium resources, which is a key component in rechargeable batteries. The acquisition strengthens and expands Huayou Cobalt's production of minerals for battery material for the electronic vehicles sector.

The MinterEllison team was led by Partner Marcus Best with support from Bart Oude-Vrielink (Partner), Bryn Davis (Partner) and Julia Sperac (Lawyer).
"We were pleased to support Huayou on this important multijurisdictional transaction. The successful outcome is a reflection of the growing value of the lithium industry globally, particularly given the increasing production of electronic vehicles," Mr Best said.

The Share Sale and Purchase Agreements were executed on 22 December 2021. Completion occurred on 20 April 2022.