Delta Lithium Boosts Balance Sheet by $80M After Ballard IPO

Strategic Demerger Unlocks Value

Delta Lithium Limited has marked a pivotal moment in its corporate evolution with the successful demerger and initial public offering (IPO) of its Mt Ida gold assets into a new entity, Ballard Mining Limited. This move has effectively separated Delta’s gold and lithium interests, allowing each company to focus on their core commodities. The spin-out was well received, with Ballard’s share price surging over 150% since listing, reflecting strong market confidence.

Delta shareholders benefited directly through an in-specie distribution of Ballard shares, representing a capital return of $16 million, while Delta itself retains a substantial 46% shareholding in Ballard. This stake has appreciated significantly, boosting Delta’s balance sheet from $39 million at IPO pricing to over $82 million at the time of this report.

Lithium Potential Grows Amid Gold Drilling

While Ballard focuses on gold exploration and development at Mt Ida, Delta continues to benefit from the ongoing drilling programs. Notably, lithium-bearing pegmatites have been intercepted during Ballard’s gold drilling campaigns, with impressive intervals such as 37 meters at 2.05% lithium oxide. These results underscore the potential for co-developing lithium resources alongside gold, enhancing the overall value proposition of the Mt Ida project.

Adding to this, a detailed review of the Mt Ida database revealed significant high-grade rubidium mineralisation within the lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites. Rubidium, a valuable co-product, has shown promising assay results, including intercepts of up to 5 meters at 1.79% Rb2O. Delta plans to incorporate rubidium into its upcoming mineral resource estimate update and will undertake metallurgical test work to assess its commercial viability.

Expanding Lithium Footprint at Yinnetharra

Beyond Mt Ida, Delta is advancing its Yinnetharra lithium project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region, where it holds over 3,100 square kilometers of tenure. Recent fieldwork has focused on systematic geochemical sampling and detailed mapping to identify high-priority drill targets. The current drilling program targets structurally complex zones at Jameson, aiming to expand the existing mineral resource estimate of 0.8 million tonnes at 1.66% lithium oxide.

Regional exploration has generated over 25 prospects, with six priority targets selected for initial drilling. These include Mason’s Prospect, Yamazaki, North Talisker, Caribou, and East Calypso, each showing compelling lithium-caesium-tantalum signatures. The ongoing exploration campaign is designed to build on the March 2025 resource update, which reported a combined 39.4 million tonnes at approximately 1% lithium oxide across Yinnetharra.

Financial Position and Outlook

Delta closed the quarter with a robust cash position of $56.8 million, supported by disciplined capital management and the proceeds from the Ballard IPO. Exploration and evaluation expenditure totaled $2.8 million, reflecting active investment in advancing lithium assets. The company’s strong balance sheet and strategic focus position it well to capitalize on the growing demand for lithium, a critical component in electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage.

Managing Director James Croser highlighted the transformational nature of the quarter, emphasizing Delta’s readiness to pursue growth opportunities in lithium while maintaining upside exposure to gold through its Ballard shareholding. The company’s dual approach, leveraging gold asset value and aggressively exploring lithium, could unlock substantial shareholder value in the coming years.