Bacanora Lithium confirms talks with investors about Sonora funding

Bacanora Lithium confirmed on Thursday that it is in talks with a number of potential cornerstone investors as it looks to secure $460m funding for the Sonora Lithium project in Mexico in the second quarter.

Responding to recent press speculation, the AIM-listed lithium company said discussions are ongoing and it will provide an update to the market as appropriate.

The statement follows a report on Wednesday that copper producer Southern Copper Corp is considering investing in Bacanora.

Southern Copper's chief executive, Oscar Gonzalez, told Reuters that company officials visited the lithium project in Sonora, although he could not remember the name of the Canadian miner he said was "trying to sell it".

Bacanora also put out a statement on Tuesday noting the recent movement in its share price. It said at the time that were was "no unpublished price sensitive information and that unsubstantiated social media speculation should be treated as such".

"Furthermore, the company is not aware of any corporate developments that support such movement."

Bacanora said it remains focused on completing its funding in Q2 2019 with a view to the commissioning of the chemical processing plant at its Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico and first production in H2 2021.

At 1500 GMT, Bacanora shares were up 31% to 22.99p.