TORONTO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Shares in Talison Lithium retreated slightly in their first day of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, after the company completed it purchase of Salares Lithium to create the world's largest pure-play lithium producer.
Shares in the Australian miner were down 5.3 percent at C$3.55 on Thursday morning, after opening at C$3.75. The company was previously unlisted.
Talison acquired Salares, which was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, and used the Canadian lithium explorer to go public, moving the combined shares to the main Toronto exchange.
Salares last traded on July 15 and closed at 62 Canadian cents on the TSX Venture Exchange. The new listing was over 472 percent higher.
Lithium metal is primarily used in lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from mobile phones to laptop computers.
Car makers, eager to capitalize on the small size and big power surge of lithium batteries, have already started signing off-take agreements with lithium producers.
'Talison is excited to have completed the merger and looks forward to accelerating the development of the highly prospective 'Salares 7' project,' Chief Executive Peter Oliver said in a press release.
Salares 7 is a 39,404 hectares lithium brine project in the Atacama region of Chile, some 860 km (534 miles) north of Santiago. Major diversified lithium players Soquimich and Rockwood operate in the Atacama region.
Talison also produces lithium from a hard rock deposit in Western Australia.
The Perth-based company had previously attempted a dual-listing IPO on the Toronto and Australian stock exchanges in 2009, but dropped that plan because of pricing.
($1=$1.03 Canadian)
(Reporting by Julie Gordon; editing by Rob Wilson) Keywords: TALISON/ (julie.gordon@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8136; Reuters Messaging: julie.gordon.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Shares in the Australian miner were down 5.3 percent at C$3.55 on Thursday morning, after opening at C$3.75. The company was previously unlisted.
Talison acquired Salares, which was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, and used the Canadian lithium explorer to go public, moving the combined shares to the main Toronto exchange.
Salares last traded on July 15 and closed at 62 Canadian cents on the TSX Venture Exchange. The new listing was over 472 percent higher.
Lithium metal is primarily used in lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from mobile phones to laptop computers.
Car makers, eager to capitalize on the small size and big power surge of lithium batteries, have already started signing off-take agreements with lithium producers.
'Talison is excited to have completed the merger and looks forward to accelerating the development of the highly prospective 'Salares 7' project,' Chief Executive Peter Oliver said in a press release.
Salares 7 is a 39,404 hectares lithium brine project in the Atacama region of Chile, some 860 km (534 miles) north of Santiago. Major diversified lithium players Soquimich and Rockwood operate in the Atacama region.
Talison also produces lithium from a hard rock deposit in Western Australia.
The Perth-based company had previously attempted a dual-listing IPO on the Toronto and Australian stock exchanges in 2009, but dropped that plan because of pricing.
($1=$1.03 Canadian)
(Reporting by Julie Gordon; editing by Rob Wilson) Keywords: TALISON/ (julie.gordon@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8136; Reuters Messaging: julie.gordon.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.