Australian battery metals explorer Azure Mining has been successfully acquired by joint bidders SQM and Hancock Prospecting in a A$1.7-billion deal.
The Chilean miner teamed up with Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, in December to buy the lithium developer.
The deal strengthened SQM's foothold in Australia with a stake in the Andover project, in Western Australia. While it is still early days for the project, the discovery has ignited a flurry of activity on ground close to Andover.