Chariot Resources Ltd (ASX:CC9) secures strategic backing from Greatpower
February 20, 2026Chariot Resources has moved to formalise a strategic relationship with a major participant in the global battery materials supply chain, executing a binding subscription agreement with Jiangsu Greatpower NexEnergy Technology Co., Ltd., an affiliate of Shanghai Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials Co., Ltd.
The transaction brings A$1.425m in new equity capital and opens the door to discussions around project-level financing and offtake across Chariot’s Nigerian lithium portfolio.
Highlights
- Binding Subscription Agreement for A$1.425m via 9,500,000 shares at A$0.15 per share
- 19,000,000 free attaching unlisted options exercisable at A$0.30, expiring 2 years from issue
- Advanced discussions on project-level financing and offtake for Nigerian lithium assets
- Completion conditional on PRC outbound investment and foreign exchange approvals, long stop date 15 April 2026
- Greatpower supplies global battery and automotive groups, including LG Energy Solution, which holds a 4.02% equity interest in Greatpower
Under the agreement, Greatpower will subscribe for 9,500,000 fully paid ordinary shares at A$0.15, raising A$1,425,000 before costs, alongside 19,000,000 unlisted options on a 2 for 1 basis, exercisable at A$0.30 and expiring 2 years from issue.
The shares will rank pari passu with existing stock and the options will remain unquoted. Completion is subject to PRC outbound direct investment and foreign exchange registrations, with a long stop date of 15 April 2026, after which the subscription lapses without liability if conditions are unmet.
Proceeds are intended to accelerate exploration and development across Chariot’s Nigerian lithium portfolio while strengthening the balance sheet.
That portfolio comprises four project clusters in Oyo and Kwara states, covering approximately 254km2 and including 8 exploration licences and 2 small scale mining leases, with the company anticipating completion of the acquisition in the first quarter of this calendar year.
Beyond the equity injection, the more consequential element may lie in the parallel discussions around a proposed framework agreement that could lead to project-level prepayment funding, exclusive offtake rights over early small-scale mining production, and potential minority equity participation at asset level.
The framework may also extend to cooperation on intelligent electric mining trucks and smart electric mining solutions. The company has noted there is no certainty definitive documentation will be concluded.
Greatpower brings scale and vertical integration, operating six industrial facilities with annual production capacity of several thousand tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate, over ten thousand tonnes of refined cobalt, and tens of thousands of tonnes of nickel products, alongside approximately 15,000 tonnes per year of nickel and cobalt recovered from spent batteries.
It is also constructing 100,000 tonnes annual production capacity of battery-grade lithium carbonate refining capacity.
As Greatpower chairman Cao Dongqiang stated,
“Greatpower is pleased to support Chariot through this strategic investment. We look forward to working closely with Chariot to advance negotiations on a project-level funding and offtake framework that can connect high-quality upstream supply with downstream demand, on terms and objectives which are aligned.”
For Chariot, which also holds lithium projects in Wyoming, Nevada and Oregon in the United States and has flagged the Zimbabwe licences are in the process of being relinquished, the transaction signals a deliberate pivot towards securing downstream alignment for its Nigerian assets.
In a market increasingly defined by supply chain integration and capital discipline, the prospect of prepayment structures and offtake-backed development provides a potential pathway to early-stage funding, albeit subject to regulatory approvals and definitive agreements.
The next inflection point is procedural rather than geological, with receipt of PRC approvals by 15 April 2026 determining whether the equity subscription completes, while negotiations over the proposed framework will test whether discussions can crystallise into binding project-level arrangements.
In a lithium sector recalibrating to tighter capital markets and heightened scrutiny of funding pathways, such strategic alignments are likely to remain central to development strategies.
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