The news came just a fortnight after theiron ore miner revealed it had spent half a billion dollars acquiring a critical 7.72 per cent stake in the lithium prospector.
Liontown’s shares have continued to hover around the $3 mark in recent weeks,giving the company a market capitalisation of $6.62 billion.
Hancock Prospecting said its strategic stake had been acquired at an average rate well below that level amid tumbling lithium prices,a move in line with its “long-term approach” to investments.
Rinehart’s decision to snap up more shares in Liontown comes as Albemarle continues its due diligence ahead of a vote on its takeover offer,which includes running the ruler over its lucrative early-stage lithium project in the Goldfields.
Liontown has already inked supply deals with the likes of Ford and Tesla for Kathleen Valley,a hard-rock lithium deposit hailed among the most promising in the country.
But Hancock Prospecting spotlighted the risks attached to the project in a notice to the ASX before touting its own credentials delivering projects on time and under budget,including its $10 billion Roy Hill iron ore mine.