Piedmont Lithium directors buy on-market to increase support for company

Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) (NASDAQ:PLL) (FRA:PL4) (FRA:PL4A) directors have snapped up more than US$100,000 of American depository receipts (ADRs) in the company on the market.

Piedmont president and CEO Keith Phillips acquired 5,600 ADRs for US$33,880 on New Year’s Eve.

READ: Piedmont Lithium completes first tranche of $12.2 million placement

The former investment banking leader’s ADR purchase represents 560,000 ordinary shares in the company.

His buy-up takes his stake in the company to 600,000 ordinary shares and 8,100 ADRs, representing 810,000 ordinary shares and valued at $75,330 at the last-traded price of 9.3 cents.

Phillips also holds 24 million incentive options.

Chartered financial analyst and non-executive director Jorge Beristain bought 11,490 ADRs, representing 1.149 million ordinary shares, on December 31, 2018.

The on-market trading had a value of US$69,515.

The Wall Street professional of more than 20 years the retired now-former managing director and head of Deutsche Bank’s Americas Metals & Mining equity research outfit.

Beristain now holds 16,490 ADRs, or 1.649 million ordinary shares, which were worth $153,357 at the last traded price on the Australian Securities Exchange.

He also has 500,000 incentive options exercisable at 25 cents each by June 30, 2020, and another 500,000 incentive options exercisable at 35 cents each by December 31, 2020.

BIG PICTURE: Piedmont Lithium updated study forecasts billion dollar lithium operation

The company released an updated scoping study for its Piedmont Lithium Project on the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt in North Carolina, USA, in September 2018.

Piedmont’s updated study upgraded the after-tax net present value (NPV) for the proposed lithium hydroxide operation by 14% to US$888 million, which was valued at A$1.25 billion at the time.

Piedmont views the project as having “compelling projected economics due to attractive capital and operating costs, significant by-product credits, short transportation distances, minimal royalties and low corporate income taxes.”

READ: Piedmont Lithium expands land position by 15%, drilling being planned

Last month the company completed the first $11.8 million tranche of a placement to raise gross proceeds of $12.2 million to back its lithium project.

A second tranche of $400,000, to be raised from three directors — its CEO Phillips, non-executive chairman Ian Middlemas and Jeffrey Armstrong — will be presented to the company’s shareholders for approval at a general meeting in Perth on January 31, 2019.

Investors will also be asked to ratify past placements.

Piedmont Lithium’s January 31 general meeting in Perth will be held at BGC Centre, 28 The Esplanade, Perth from 2pm Western Standard Time (5pm market time).

Story by ProactiveInvestors