St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) has announced a further $3 million in funding support from Shanghai Jayson New Energy Materials, which will make Jayson the company’s largest shareholder with a stake of 11.73 per cent.Jayson is the world’s leading producer of cathode precursor materials for lithium‐ion batteries and has established a diversified vertical supply chain for energy materials that extends from upstream mining to downstream precursor manufacturing. St George and Jayson will collaborate on various commercial opportunities to leverage Jayson’s substantial financial and technical capabilities, with a priority focus on maximising the value of St George’s flagship Mt Alexander lithium project in WA’s northern Goldfields.The additional investment by Jayson, at 3.8c per St George share, follows significant recent interest in St George from major operators in the battery and critical metals sectors including ATL’s $3 million equity investment in the company’s ‘Lithium Star’ subsidiary.In parallel to the extra Jayson funding, St George has received commitments for a $2 million placement of new shares to domestic and international investors to further boost the company’s cash balance by $8 million this quarter.The funding boost comes amid the next phase of exploration at Mt Alexander to test exciting new lithium prospects.“Jayson is a globally significant supplier to the clean energy sector and the world’s leading producer of cathode precursor materials for lithium‐ion batteries. This is a group with deep financial capacity and technical capabilities in lithium‐ion battery technologies, mining, chemical engineering and battery materials manufacturing,” St George executive chairman John Prineas said.“St George is delighted at this additional investment – a clear demonstration of Jayson’s faith in the potential of the company’s lithium projects that builds on its initial investment in St George a year ago. We welcome Jayson as St George’s largest shareholder as we work together to accelerate the development of the company’s critical minerals business.“Jayson has a long‐term investment focus with a history of successful global partnerships across the battery sector supply chain, including upstream mining assets.“Our Mt Alexander Lithium Project represents a dominant landholding in the emerging Mt Ida lithium province, where we control more than 16km of a prospective pegmatite corridor parallel to the Copperfield Granite.“Drilling at Mt Alexander has confirmed widespread high‐grade lithium within fractionated pegmatites and has intersected a flat‐lying pegmatite up to 121m thick, demonstrating potential for large volume mineralised pegmatites.“We believe there is excellent potential for further exploration and drilling to discover significant lithium mineralisation. “Our strategic relationship with Jayson will strengthen our capacity to advance Mt Alexander and unlock the full potential of our large landholding in this lithium province where major mining companies like Hancock Prospecting, Mineral Resources and IGO continue to make substantial investments.“Together with the recent investment by global battery company Amperex Technology Limited (ATL) in our Lithium Star group of projects, St George is exceptionally well‐positioned to deliver lithium exploration success in Western Australia – the world’s best hard‐rock lithium address.”
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