Côte d'Ivoire's Lithium Draws Australian Investor Australasian Metals

Australasian Metals secured an exclusive option to take up to 75% of the Atex project and 51% of the Alliance project, and it announced the deal on Monday, Sept. 7. The company will pay A$100,000 (US$72,000) for a 90-day evaluation window, and it will pay a further A$1.4 million to current owner Firering Strategic Minerals if it exercises the option. The Fraser Institute's 2025 survey ranks Côte d'Ivoire first in West Africa and fifth in Africa for mining-investment attractiveness, with a score of 60.92 out of 100. The pool of investors interested in Ivorian lithium keeps widening, even though the country holds no operating mine or declared mineral resources yet. Australasian Metals, a Sydney-listed company, said on Monday, Sept. 7 that it had obtained an exclusive option to acquire up to 75% of the Atex project and 51% of the Alliance project. The deal follows the recent entry of China's Ganfeng Lithium into other Ivorian assets, and it returns an investor to Atex, whose development had suffered after Ricca Resources withdrew last year. Australasian Metals will pay A$100,000 (US$72,000) for a 90-day window to evaluate the two assets. If it exercises the option, it will pay a further A$1.4 million to Firering Strategic Minerals, the current owner of the projects. During this period, the company plans to verify past drilling, complete mapping and sampling, and launch preliminary metallurgical tests. Geology and Business Climate Atex itself offers a first explanation for this interest. Previous drilling intersected 67.97 meters at 1.23% lithium oxide and 20.77 meters at 1.65%. The project sits in the same geological zone that hosts the Bougouni and Goulamina lithium mines in Mali. Australasian Metals also points to Ivorian infrastructure and a regulatory environment that favors mining activity. This assessment extends beyond the company's own statements. In its 2025 survey of mining companies, the Fraser Institute ranks Côte d'Ivoire as the top jurisdiction in West Africa and fifth in Africa for mining-investment attractiveness. The country scores 60.92 out of 100 on an index that combines the perception of public policy with that of mineral potential. Abidjan has meanwhile supported this interest in lithium by granting several exploration permits in recent years. The market backdrop, moreover, looks less unfavorable than it did in 2024 and early 2025, when the drop in lithium prices pushed several operators to cut their exploration spending. Atex consequently lost Ricca Resources, which had wanted to develop the project alongside Firering. Since then, lithium prices have more than doubled between January 2025 and April 2026, according to the International Energy Agency. Australasian Metals' effective entry into Côte d'Ivoire now depends on the results of its checks and on the exercise of the option, as well as on the required approvals, including that of the mines minister. The Alliance project, notably, remains at the permit-application stage. For Côte d'Ivoire to move from an exploration destination to a lithium-producing country, investment will need to delineate resources, carry out metallurgical and feasibility studies, and then finance and build the mines.