American Battery Technology Company Receives Letter of Interest from US EXIM Bank for $900 Million Financing for Tonopah Flats Lithium Project
Rhea-AI Summary
American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ: ABAT) has received a $900 million Letter of Interest from the US EXIM Bank to finance its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Nevada. The funding would support the construction of a domestic lithium mine and a 30,000 tonne per year lithium hydroxide refinery.
The project aligns with EXIM's 'Make More in America' and 'China and Transformational Export Program' initiatives, supporting domestic critical mineral manufacturing. ABAT has partnered with Black & Veatch for the design and construction of the refinery.
The company has already demonstrated its technologies at pilot scale, successfully producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide from claystone. This resource is considered one of the largest known lithium deposits in the United States. ABAT's innovative approach focuses on processing unconventional lithium-rich claystone found in central Nevada, as the U.S. lacks large quantities of conventional lithium resources like hard rock spodumene or lithium-rich brines.
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Positive
- $900M potential EXIM financing support for lithium mine and refinery construction
- Project includes large-scale 30,000 tonne/year lithium hydroxide refinery
- Partnership with Black & Veatch, a global EPC leader, for commercial scale design
- Successfully demonstrated technology at pilot scale with battery-grade lithium production
- Controls one of the largest known lithium deposits in the United States
- Project aligns with federal initiatives, potentially fast-tracking permits and funding
- Developed proprietary technology for unconventional lithium extraction from claystone
Negative
- EXIM financing not guaranteed - only received Letter of Interest
- Technology is first-of-kind, implying execution and scaling risks
- Faces competition from established conventional lithium producers in Australia and South America
- Project still requires full permitting and construction before revenue generation
News Market Reaction – ABAT
On the day this news was published, ABAT gained 33.04%, reflecting a significant positive market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
- The EXIM funding, if realized, would support the construction of a domestic lithium mine and a 30,000 tonne lithium hydroxide per year refinery, located on the company’s Nevada Tonopah Flats Lithium Project site
- Aligned with EXIM’s ‘Make More in America’ and its ‘China and Transformational Export Program’ initiatives that support beneficial financing for domestic manufacturing facilities of critical minerals
- The company has already successfully demonstrated its technologies at pilot scale and manufactured battery-grade lithium hydroxide from claystone collected from its Tonopah Flats lithium resource, one of the largest known lithium deposits in the United States
American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ: ABAT), an integrated critical battery materials company that is commercializing its technologies for both primary battery minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling, is pleased to confirm that it has received a Letter of Interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for
“We appreciate this support from EXIM and are proud of this further validation that our mission is closely aligned with the U.S. government’s dedication to serve the American people," stated American Battery Technology Company CEO Ryan Melsert. “This proposed financial support can greatly accelerate the commercialization of our domestic critical mineral mine and refinery, and we are excited to implement at scale these first-of-kind technologies that we have been demonstrating over the past several years.”
ABTC’s critical mineral lithium mine and refinery project is strongly aligned with EXIM’s “Make More in America” initiative as well as its “China and Transformational Export Program,” both of which provide beneficial financing terms for U.S. companies facing competition from the People’s Republic of China to ensure the United States leads in certain critical export areas, including the domestic manufacturing of critical minerals.
The issuance of this LOI is aligned with the Executive Order from March 20, 2025 titled “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production” which directs federal agencies, including EXIM, to unlock permitting, funding, and offtake agreements for domestic critical mineral manufacturing facilities. The Executive Order includes near-term actions to be determined and implemented by the agencies to fast-track permits, mobilize capital for mineral producers, and create offtake agreements for strategic stockpiling for minerals critical to the United States’ defense, technology, and energy.
ABTC has partnered with Black & Veatch, a global engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) leader, for the commercial scale design and construction of this 30,000 tonne/year lithium hydroxide refinery project. In accordance with SEC guidelines, in April 2024, ABTC published its amended Initial Assessment*, which presents the technical and economic study of this project and concluded that this resource is one of the largest known lithium resources in the United States.
Throughout the world lithium products are generally manufactured from conventional feedstock resources, which include hard rock spodumene materials primarily from western Australia and lithium-rich brines primarily from South America; however, the U.S. does not have large quantities of these conventional resources. As a result, in order to significantly increase U.S. production of battery grade lithium products, ABTC has developed its own low-cost and low-impact technologies to access the lithium within unconventional lithium-rich claystone material that is found in central Nevada to manufacture these battery grade lithium materials domestically.
ABTC’s Tonopah Flats Lithium Project underscores its mission to lead the sustainable advancement of critical battery materials and secure a pivotal role in meeting the U.S.’s growing demand for domestically produced critical mineral lithium. By prioritizing innovation, collaboration, and environmentally responsible practices, ABTC is strengthening the domestic battery supply chain at a time when the demand for U.S.-produced lithium is most critical.
This Letter of Interest does not constitute a commitment of financing.
About American Battery Technology Company
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), headquartered in Reno, Nevada, has pioneered first-of-kind technologies to unlock domestically manufactured and recycled battery metals critically needed to help meet the significant demand from the electric vehicle, stationary storage, and consumer electronics industries. Committed to a circular supply chain for battery metals, ABTC works to continually innovate and master new battery metals technologies that power a global transition to electrification and the future of sustainable energy.
About EXIM Bank
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation’s official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. When private sector lenders are unable or unwilling to provide financing, EXIM fills in the gap for American businesses by equipping them with the financing tools necessary to compete for global sales. In doing so, the agency levels the playing field for U.S. goods and services going up against foreign competition in overseas markets, so that American companies can create more good-paying American jobs. Learn more at www.exim.gov.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are “forward-looking statements.” Although the American Battery Technology Company’s (the “Company”) management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company’s future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information, unfavorable exploration results, inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices, final investment approval and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2024. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release.
*Additional Technical Information
Initial Assessment
An Initial Assessment is a preliminary technical and economic study of the economic potential of all or parts of mineralization to support the disclosure of mineral resources. The Initial Assessment must be prepared by a qualified person and must include appropriate assessments of reasonably assumed technical and economic factors, together with any other relevant operational factors, that are necessary to demonstrate at the time of reporting that there are reasonable prospects for economic extraction. An Initial Assessment is required for disclosure of mineral resources but cannot be used as the basis for disclosure of mineral reserves. An Initial Assessment is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied that would enable them to be classified as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the economic results of an initial assessment will be realized. The mineral resource estimates presented in the ABTC Tonopah Flats Initial Assessment were performed by third-party, qualified person RESPEC, LLC and were classified by geological and quantitative confidence in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regulation S-K 1300. Identified resources included Inferred, Indicated, and Measured Resources.
Inferred Resource
Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological uncertainty associated with an Inferred Mineral Resource is too high to apply relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospects of economic extraction in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability. Because an Inferred Mineral Resource has the lowest level of geological confidence of all mineral resources, which prevents the application of the modifying factors in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability, an Inferred Mineral Resource may not be considered when assessing the economic viability of a mining project, and may not be converted to a mineral reserve.
Indicated Resource
Indicated Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of adequate geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological certainty associated with an Indicated Mineral Resource is sufficient to allow a qualified person to apply modifying factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Because an Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than the level of confidence of a Measured Mineral Resource, an Indicated Mineral Resource may only be converted to a Probable Mineral Reserve.
Measured Resource
Measured Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of conclusive geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological certainty associated with a Measured Mineral Resource is sufficient to allow a qualified person to apply modifying factors, as defined in this section, in sufficient detail to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Because a Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than the level of confidence of either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral Resource, a Measured Mineral Resource may be converted to a Proven Mineral Reserve or to a Probable Mineral Reserve.
Attachment
Tiffiany Moehring American Battery Technology Company 720.254.1556 tmoehring@batterymetals.com