Piedmont Lithium Adds Governance and Operational Experience to Board Following U.S. Incorporation

NEW YORK –
Piedmont Lithium Inc., (“Piedmont” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: PLL; ASX: PLL), a clean energy company focused on the integrated production of lithium hydroxide to support the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain, today announced the election of two new Non-Executive Directors to its Board, Mr. Claude Demby and Ms. Susan Jones, along with the retirements of long-serving Directors Anastasios Arima and Levi Mochkin. “We are extremely fortunate to have individuals with the leadership and operating experience of Claude and Susan join our Board. Their relevant executive and governance backgrounds will play a key role in helping guide our organization as the demand for electric vehicles and lithium hydroxide rapidly increases in the United States and around the world,” said Piedmont Board Chairman, Jeff Armstrong.

Mr. Demby, currently President of Cree LED, a Smart Global Holdings, Inc. company, brings exceptional governance experience through his current service as Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee and Director on the board of Brown Capital Management Mutual Fund Trust and prior service as Director on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond – Charlotte branch, including Chairman from 2012 to 2017. He also has a strong record of community service through his founding and running of Valour Academy Schools, Inc., in Raleigh, NC, and serving as an advisory board member of Duke Raleigh Hospital.

Mr. Demby has extensive executive and operational leadership experience, having served as CEO and Director of the Noël Group, a $250 million manufacturer of synthetic foam materials, and President and COO of L&L Products, after beginning his career in engineering roles with Procter & Gamble and GE Plastics. “Claude’s work leading the LED Products business at Cree, developing technologies and services that have a broad environmental, social and governance impact, will be extremely valuable to Piedmont given our focus on serving the electric vehicle market, which will play a critical role in helping reduce the world’s carbon footprint,” said Mr. Armstrong. Mr. Demby received an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware.

Ms. Jones spent 15 years of her career at Nutrien Ltd., a multibillion-dollar global mining and agricultural enterprise. Her most recent role prior to retirement in 2019 was serving as Executive Vice President and CEO – Potash, the world’s largest underground soft-rock miner. Ms. Jones has a wealth of board experience, having advised the boards of both Agrium and Nutrien, both NYSE publicly traded companies, as an executive, and currently serving on the board of TC Energy, a $50 billion market cap NYSE company, and Arc Resources. She has also served on the Boards of Gibson Energy and Canpotex.

Ms. Jones brings valuable legal experience combined with operating responsibilities over the course of her career with roles ranging from Chief Legal Officer to Managing Director of European Operations, and several other critical leadership positions. “Susan’s experience leading a global, vertically integrated, commodity company, combined with her extensive background in a variety of operational roles at Nutrien, will be an asset to Piedmont Lithium as we look to expand our business in the future,” added Mr. Armstrong. Ms. Jones received her JD from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and a BA in Political Science from the University of Victoria (Canada).

Piedmont CEO Keith Phillips commented, “As we welcome Susan and Claude, it is difficult to express how much we will miss and appreciate the vision and contributions that Taso and Levi brought to our organization to help us get to this point as a company. Mr. Arima is a visionary entrepreneur and was a co-founder of Piedmont Lithium, having identified both the economic and national security advantages of operating on the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt versus remote global locations. Taso is also the founder and CEO of Hyperion Metals, and is stepping back from the Piedmont board to dedicate all of his time to leading that new critical minerals venture. Mr. Mochkin has been a Board member and the Mochkin family trust has been Piedmont’s largest individual shareholder since the Company’s inception; his entrepreneurial guidance and wisdom together with being an unrelenting advocate of our story resonated with institutional and individual investors worldwide. We would not be where we are without them.”

About Piedmont:

Piedmont is developing a world-class integrated lithium business in the United States, enabling the transition to a net zero world and the creation of a clean energy economy in America. Our location in the renowned Carolina Tin Spodumene Belt of North Carolina, positions us to be one of the world’s lowest cost producers of lithium hydroxide and the most strategically located to serve the fast-growing U.S. electric vehicle supply chain. The unique geographic proximity of our resources, production operations and prospective customers, places Piedmont on the path to be the most sustainable producer of lithium hydroxide in the world and allow Piedmont to play a pivotal role in supporting America’s move to the electrification of transportation and energy storage. Additional information is available at www.piedmontlithium.com.

Keith Phillips

President & CEO

T: +1 973 809 0505

E: kphillips@piedmontlithium.com

Brian Risinger

VP – Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

T: +1 704 910 9688

E: brisinger@piedmontlithium.com

Confirmation of Capital Structure

Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL, ASX:PLL) (Piedmont or Company) provides the following information regarding the capital structure of Piedmont as requested by ASX. 

As at 17 May 2021 following implementation of the scheme of arrangement, the issued capital of Piedmont is as follows:

  • 15,749,533 Piedmont Shares on issue (equivalent to 1,574,953,300 Piedmont CDIs), which comprises:
    • 9,845,435 Piedmont Shares to be quoted on NASDAQ (equivalent to 984,543,500 Piedmont CDIs); and
    • 5,904,098 Piedmont Shares held by CHESS Depositary Nominees Pty Ltd, underpinning 590,409,800 Piedmont CDIs quoted on ASX.

This announcement has been authorized for release by the Company’s Company Secretary.

Implementation of Scheme

Piedmont Lithium Inc. (NASDAQ:PLL, ASX:PLL) (Piedmont or Company) is pleased to advise that the scheme of arrangement (Scheme) to give effect to the re-domiciliation of Piedmont Lithium Limited (Piedmont Australia) from Australia to the United States of America has been implemented.

All Piedmont Australia shares have been transferred to Piedmont. The Scheme consideration, comprising Piedmont CDIs and Piedmont shares, has been issued to Piedmont Australia shareholders and Piedmont Australia ADS holders respectively, other than ineligible foreign shareholders and small parcel holders who did not make an election (Non-Electing Small Parcel Holders).

Ineligible foreign shareholders and Non-Electing Small Parcel Holders will have the Scheme consideration that they would have otherwise been entitled to receive issued to a sale agent who will then sell those Piedmont CDIs and remit the proceeds to those shareholders.

Further Information

If you require further information or have questions, please contact the please contact the Piedmont Scheme Information Line on 1300 218 182 (within Australia) or +61 3 9415 4233 (outside Australia) Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 5:00pm (AEDT).

This announcement has been authorized for release by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

Piedmont Lithium Announces Results Of Scheme Meeting

NEW YORK – Piedmont Lithium Limited (“Piedmont” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:PLL; ASX:PLL) is pleased to provide the following update on the status of its proposed re-domiciliation from Australia to the United States.

Piedmont shareholders have today approved, by the requisite majorities, the proposed scheme of arrangement pursuant to which it is proposed that Piedmont Lithium Inc. (Piedmont US) will acquire 100% of the shares in Piedmont (Scheme).

In accordance with Listing Rule 3.13.2 and section 251AA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), a detailed report of proxies received and the votes cast in respect to the resolution approving the Scheme is included as Appendix 1 to this announcement.

Although Piedmont shareholder approval has been obtained, the Scheme remains subject to a number of conditions as set out in the Scheme Implementation Deed (a full copy of which is disclosed within the scheme booklet, which is available on the ASX website at www.asx.com.au and on Piedmont’s website at www.piedmontlithium.com), including:

  • Foreign Investment Review Board approval;
  • the Supreme Court of Western Australia approving the Scheme (Second Court Hearing);
  • the independent expert continuing to conclude that the Scheme is in the best interests of shareholders; and
  • the satisfaction or waiver of any remaining conditions prior to the Second Court Hearing.

Subject to these remaining conditions being satisfied or waived, implementation of the Scheme is expected to occur on May 17, 2021.

Further information

If you require further information or have questions, please contact the please contact the Piedmont Scheme Information Line on 1300 218 182 (within Australia) or +61 3 9415 4233 (outside Australia) Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 5:00pm (AEDT).

This announcement has been authorized for release by the Company’s Company Secretary, Mr Gregory Swan.

Click here to view the full ASX Announcement.

Keith Phillips

President & CEO

T: +1 973 809 0505

E: kphillips@piedmontlithium.com

Brian Risinger

VP – Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

T: +1 704 910 9688

E: brisinger@piedmontlithium.com

Piedmont Increases Lithium Resources By 40%

  • Piedmont Lithium Project’s Global Mineral Resources increased to 39.2 Mt @ 1.09% Li2O
  • Exploration and infill drilling continues with five rigs operating on the Core property
  • The updated resource base will underpin the Scoping Study update targeted for May 2021
  • A further resource update will precede the DFS scheduled for September 2021 release

NEW YORK – Piedmont Lithium Limited (“Piedmont” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:PLL; ASX:PLL) is pleased to announce an updated Global Mineral Resource estimate (“MRE”) (Table 1) for the Company’s flagship Piedmont Lithium Project in North Carolina, USA which includes updated Mineral Resource estimates from the Core and Central properties and an initial Mineral Resource estimate from the Huffstetler property (Table 2). The total MRE for the project is 39.2 Mt at 1.09% Li2O (Figure 1), with 55% of the MRE currently classified in the Indicated category. The Mineral Resource estimate is reported in accordance with JORC Code (2012 Edition).

Table 1: Piedmont Lithium Global Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE)

Resource Category

Tonnes


(Mt)

Grade


(Li2O%)

Li2O


(t)

LCE


(t)

Indicated

21.6

1.12

241,000

597,000

Inferred

17.6

1.03

181,000

449,000

Total

39.2

1.09

422,000

1,046,000

Keith D. Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Increasing the scale of our North Carolina mineral resource to 39.2 Mt at 1.09% Li2O establishes our asset as one of the largest spodumene resources in North America – and the only one in the United States. The expanded resource offers the potential for increased annual lithium production, something we will evaluate as we prepare our updated Scoping Study for release next month. All this is coming together at an ideal time, as the public and private sectors dramatically increase their investment in the electrification of America. Given the scope and strategic location of our Piedmont Lithium Project, we believe we are ideally positioned to play a critical role in helping the United States build a clean energy economy and a U.S. based EV supply chain.”

To view the complete ASX Release, click here.

Keith D. Phillips

President & CEO

T: +1 973 809 0505

E: kphillips@piedmontlithium.com

Brian Risinger

Vice President – Corporate Communications

T: +1 704 910 9688

E: brisinger@piedmontlithium.com