Lithium Ionic Completes US$37.5 Million Salinas Sale to PLS

The Terms

Lithium Ionic said on August 25, 2026 that it had completed the sale of its Salinas group of lithium properties to PLS Brasil Mineração Ltda., a wholly owned subsidiary of PLS Group Limited. The properties, held through subsidiaries Salit Mineração and Neolit Minerals Participações, comprise ten mineral claims and certain associated assets, and include the Baixa Grande lithium resource in Minas Gerais.

The aggregate price is US$37.5 million, on terms set out in the August 12, 2026 agreement release. Lithium Ionic received US$30.0 million in cash at closing. The remaining US$7.5 million is deferred sale consideration, a sum PLS owes on the purchase price. It falls due on the earlier of a positive final investment decision for PLS’ Colina project and December 31, 2029, which places the timing outside Lithium Ionic’s control, and the company lists credit and counterparty risk on that payment among its risk factors.

Lithium Ionic also retains a royalty equal to 2.0% of proceeds from the sale of all spodumene extracted from the mineral claims sold, net of certain allowable deductions and calculated on a free-on-board basis. The royalty attaches to those ten claims. Spodumene PLS extracts from its own adjacent Colina ground is not subject to it, and the royalty pays only once a mine is producing and selling from the claims Lithium Ionic sold.

Why the Assets Fit PLS

PLS Group, formerly Pilbara Minerals, entered Brazil’s Lithium Valley on February 4, 2025, when it completed the all-share acquisition of Latin Resources. The project it picked up was renamed Colina and sits directly adjacent to Baixa Grande. Lithium Ionic describes the sale as consolidating the district under a single owner. PLS framed the Latin Resources acquisition as growing and diversifying its revenue beyond Pilgangoora.

PLS closed the June 2026 quarter with A$2,290 million of cash and A$2,790 million of total liquidity, so the US$30.0 million paid at closing was roughly 2% of the cash it held, with a further US$7.5 million deferred. The company’s producing base remains the 100%-owned Pilgangoora operation in Western Australia, which produced 879.5kt of spodumene concentrate in FY2026 on the figures in its June 2026 quarterly activities report. Colina remains in feasibility study and has not reached a development decision.

Lithium Ionic entered the Salinas district in March 2023 and published a mineral resource estimate for Baixa Grande in a technical report dated December 2, 2024. In the August 12 agreement release the company said the price represents a significant increase on what it originally paid for the properties, a claim it did not quantify.

What’s Next for Lithium Ionic

The US$30.0 million cash receipt is material relative to Lithium Ionic’s market capitalisation, which was about US$93 million. A developer at this stage would more often fund early works by issuing shares, which dilutes existing holders. Selling Salinas avoided that.

Management has directed the proceeds at Bandeira, the 100%-owned underground hard-rock project in the Itinga district that completed a definitive feasibility study in September 2025. The company describes the spending as early works, procurement and construction-readiness activity ahead of a construction decision. On its project pages the company says it is advancing toward the grant of the Concomitant Environmental and Installation License (Licença Ambiental Concomitante, or LAC) from the Minas Gerais state environment secretariat, which would allow construction and mine pre-development to begin, so construction has yet to start.

“The completion of this transaction crystallizes significant value from Salinas while strengthening Lithium Ionic’s balance sheet with US$30.0 million in non-dilutive cash proceeds. In just over three years, our team advanced Salinas from an early-stage exploration opportunity to a monetized asset, while retaining shareholder exposure to future production through the royalty. With this transaction complete, our focus remains squarely on advancing our flagship Bandeira Lithium Project toward a construction decision and our objective of becoming a near-term, low-cost lithium producer.”

— Blake Hylands, Chief Executive Officer, Lithium Ionic Corp

Selling Salinas leaves Lithium Ionic a focused developer centred on Bandeira, with the Itinga-Outro Lado ground retained as regional exploration potential. The 2.0% royalty is exposure to future production on the ten claims sold, and pays nothing unless spodumene is mined and sold from that ground. The separate US$7.5 million of deferred consideration is payable on the earlier of a positive FID for PLS’ Colina project and December 31, 2029, subject to counterparty risk.