EHM conditionally agrees deal with ČEZ on mining Czech lithium

The Australian mining company European Metals Holdings (EMH) Limited has reached a conditional agreement with the Czech energy company ČEZ Group regarding a strategic partnership as well as large investment into a lithium mining project around Cínovec in the North West of the country, the Czech News Agency reports quoting a Wednesday statement by EMH. If the agreement passes a due diligence check and is approved by shareholders it will mean that ČEZ will pay EUR 34.06 million to receive a 51 percent share in Geodet, a subsidiary of EMH, which possesses the rights to mine in the area.

Lithium, a key component of electric car batteries, is sometimes referred to as the “metal of the future”. The Czech Republic is estimated to possess 3 percent of the world’s lithium reserves and the deposit around Cínovec is the largest in Europe.

The question of who owned the country’s lithium reserves was one of the key issues in the last general election in the Czech Republic. The Czech government is the majority owner of ČEZ.