(Yicai Global) Dec. 15 -- Chinese battery material processor Yahua Industrial Group intends to invest AUD3.6 million (USD2.6 million) to acquire a nearly 10-percent stake in Australian lithium exploration firm EV Resources to ensure its supply.

The pair penned an equity transfer agreement yesterday, they announced in separate statements.

Sichuan province-based Yahua will obtain 80 million new shares in EV Resources, formerly known as Jadar Resources, for 4.5 Australian cents apiece (3 US cents), representing 9.5 percent of the total share capital after the issuance, according to the deal.

The two firms have been planning the partnership for a while. On Dec. 1, the pair inked a memorandum of understanding for EV Resources to sell all of the lithium concentrate it gains from the lithium projects it controls to Yahua.

The proceeds of the issuance will be used for lithium exploration and project development, as well as considered working capital, said the Perth-headquartered firm.

Yahua's stock price [SHE: 002497] was 0.7 percent down at CNY28.28 (USD4.40) in the afternoon.

Founded in 1985, EV Resources has lithium resources in Australia, Serbia, and Austria, according to its statement.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi