The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price has shot up 10.71% at the opening of trade on Monday. At the time of writing, Sayona shares are trading at 15.5 cents apiece.
Shares in the lithium development company are on the move after it updated the market on a key acquisition in North America.
Let's investigate further.
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What did Sayona announce?
In a potential positive for the Sayona share price, the company advised it had completed the acquisition of North American Lithium via its subsidiary Sayona Quebec.
Sayona Quebec is a venture between Sayona and its "strategic partner" Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL). Piedmont has a 25% share with the remaining 75% belonging to Sayona itself.
Sayona previously announced that the Superior Court of Quebec had approved the acquisition on 30 June.
The court approved the transaction via a share purchase agreement. The total bid value at the time was CA$196.2 million, with a cash consideration of CA$94 million.
As a result of the acquisition, Sayona will seek to integrate its Authier and Tansim lithium projects with this site.
This will create the "Abitibi Lithium hub". The hub has the potential to "become Quebec's leading lithium producer" as per the release.
This is due to the "abundant mineral resources, sustainable hydroelectric power and proximity to the US and European markets".
As a result of the acquisition, technical studies are now advancing at the North American site for the "future restart" of its spodumene concentrate operations.
A scoping study for the "profitable production of spodumene concentrate" is also expected at the site in the second half of this year.
What did management say?
Speaking on the release, Sayona managing director Brett Lynch said:
We are extremely pleased to have taken control of NAL with our joint venture partner, Piedmont. Our local team in Québec is fully engaged in executing our turnaround plan at NAL, including the refurbishment of its facilities and its integration with our flagship Authier Lithium Project.
Touching on the sustainability aspect, Lynch added:
We are committed to swiftly developing a profitable and sustainable business at NAL, delivering new jobs and investment and maximising the benefits of its existing facilities to make it the centre of our Abitibi lithium hub.
Sayona Mining share price snapshot
The Sayona Mining share price has gained a whopping 1,500% this year to date. This return has well outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) climb of about 14% since 1 January.
In the last month, Sayona shares have climbed a further 77% in the green. At the time of writing, Sayona Mining has a market capitalisation of $850 million.
