The dual-listed Patriot has locked in commitments for a private placement at C$14.54 per share for $75 million, a 51% premium to its recent trading in the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Patriot, which already had more than $90 million cash in the bank, said it decided to act ahead of changes announced in Canada’s recent federal budget that are due to take effect next month.

Flow-through shares offer income tax credits in Canada for critical mineral investments.

The Ken Brinsden-led company said there was strong demand from new shareholders. Existing substantial investors also maintained their pro-rata in the placement, and had agreed to a four-month escrow.

PearTree Securities facilitated the raising, with support from Euroz Hartleys, Argonaut Securities, Bell Potter Securities and Foster Stockbroking.

Once finalised a block trade will see selected institutional investors in Australia purchase shares on the ASX at A85c per CHESS depository interest, increasing local liquidity.

A second block trade at C$7.65 per share will be conducted on the TSX.

The new funding will go into Patriot’s Corvette lithium project over the next 18 months.

Corvette’s CV5 pegmatite trend has 109.2 million tonnes grading 1.42% lithium and sits in Quebec’s James Bay region. 

A new resource for the CV5 deposit is expected later next quarter. A maiden resource for the CV13 pegmatite is also expected later this year.

Brinsden said the strengthened balance sheet would allow the company to grow what is already North America’s largest lithium resource, accelerate testing a number of high priority targets, and advance mining studies.

Patriot recently ended a nine-month relationship with North American lithium giant Albemarle, completing early work to plan for what could become an integrated mine, concentrator, and lithium hydroxide plant by the end of the decade. 

Albemarle signed a memorandum of understanding last August, hours after Patriot announced its resource, and agreed to invest $109 million into Patriot via a private placement at $15.29 per share, a 10% premium to trading levels at the time. 

The New York-based firm remains a 4.9% shareholder in Patriot.