(Yicai Global) March 9 -- Shares in Ganfeng Lithium surged as much as 13 percent today in Hong Kong as the Chinese supplier of key raw materials for electric car lithium batteries snapped up the mining rights to its first lithium salt lake for CNY1.47 billion (USD225.1 million).

The firm’s Hong Kong shares [HKG:1772] were trading up 6.37 percent at HKD88.30 (USD11.37) at 2:45 p.m. China time today. They had earlier reached HKD94.70. On the mainland, the company’s stock price [SHE:002460] was affected by the general downward trend of the Shenzhen bourse. It closed up 1.52 percent at CNY91.45 (USD14). It had earlier in the day jumped 6.6 percent to CNY96.05.

Ganfeng Lithium and unit Qinghai Liangcheng Mining will acquire a 49 percent stake in the Minmetals Salt Lake in western Qinghai province through the takeover of current owner Yili Hongda Foundation Equity Investment Partner, the Xinyu, southeastern Jiangxi province-based firm said yesterday. The remaining equity will be held by metals and minerals firm China Minmetals Non-Ferrous Metals, it added.

The 422.7-square-kilometer Minmetals Salt Lake is located in the Qaidam Basin. It had reserves of 69,820 tons of lithium chloride and 713,600 tons of potassium chloride as of April last year. Around 10,000 tons of brine can be extracted a year, which Ganfeng Lithium will use to produce lithium carbonate, potassium chloride and other raw materials for lithium batteries and fertilizers.

Editor: Kim Taylor