“Having this funding in place provides strong endorsement for our project and a platform of financial certainty from which to move forward,” Liontown Chief Executive Officer Tony Ottaviano said in a statement Wednesday. The loan should allow the three million ton-a year spodumene mine in Western Australia to begin output by mid-2024, the company said.

Shares in Liontown surged as much as 18.3% after the announcement, and were trading 12.2% higher at A$1.475 apiece at 10:55 a.m. Sydney time.

Liontown was left stranded after US heavyweight Albemarle Corp. pulled out of a planned takeover in October. Then in January a drop in forecast prices for spodumene — the lithium-bearing mineral it will produce — saw the termination of a A$760 million loan agreement and a review of the Kathleen Valley project.

The spot price of lithium carbonate in China – the key material used to power electric vehicles – has rebounded to the highest level since December following its 80%-plus collapse in 2023. Lithium is a commodity that’s central to the energy transition given its role in batteries, but a global glut torpedoed prices last year as supply ran ahead of demand.

Liontown secured the financing from a consortium of lenders including Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd. and Societe Generale SA, alongside Australian government agencies Export Finance Australia and the Clean Energy Finance Corp.

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