Chariot Resources (ASX:CC9) Surges 17% on CATL Supplier Deal: Speculative Buy or Too Early?

Chariot Resources Surges on CATL Supplier Deal

Chariot Resources (ASX: CC9) surged 17% to A$0.17 after securing a binding A$1.425 million investment from Jiangsu Greatpower NexEnergy Technology, an affiliate of Shanghai Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials. Greatpower supplies battery materials to some of the biggest names in the business, including CATL, LG Energy Solution, BMW, and Samsung. For a micro-cap lithium explorer with a market cap of around A$36 million, getting a company like this on the register is a big deal. Greatpower will subscribe for 9.5 million shares at A$0.15 each, along with 19 million options exercisable at A$0.30. The question now is whether this validation leads to something bigger.

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Why Greatpower’s Investment Signals More Than Just Cash

The A$1.425 million itself is modest. The real value lies in the relationship behind it. Greatpower is vertically integrated across nickel, cobalt, and lithium, and LG Energy Solution holds a 4.02% stake in the company. That means Chariot Resources now has a shareholder with direct ties to the global battery supply chain.

What makes this more interesting is that both sides are already in advanced talks on a broader partnership. This could include prepayment funding to help start early small-scale mining, exclusive off-take rights over initial production, and wider funding support across Chariot’s Nigerian lithium portfolio. If those discussions turn into binding agreements, Chariot Resources could fund its next steps without relying heavily on share placements.

This also follows earlier non-binding MOUs with Shanghai GreatPower and Fujian Jinjianqiao, another Chinese lithium player. The pattern is clear: multiple Chinese supply chain groups are showing interest in Nigeria’s lithium potential, and Chariot appears to be at the front of the queue. We believe this repeated engagement adds genuine credibility to the company’s strategy.

The Risks Investors Cannot Ignore

For all the positive signals, this remains a very early-stage story. The biggest concern is that Chariot Resources does not yet own the Nigerian lithium projects. The acquisition from Continental Lithium has been pushed back to May 2026. Until that closes, everything else is built on hope rather than certainty.

There is also no JORC-compliant resource estimate, and no drilling has been completed. Rock chip samples from the Fonlo and Iganna projects returned grades up to 5.96% Li2O, which is encouraging, but surface samples are not the same as a proven resource. Drilling, metallurgical studies and permitting all still need to happen before production becomes realistic. The Greatpower deal itself is conditional on Chinese regulatory approvals, with an April 15 long stop date. In our view, several things need to go right before this becomes more than a speculative bet.

The Investor’s Takeaway

Chariot Resources is a high-risk, high-reward play on Nigerian lithium backed by growing Chinese supply chain interest. The Greatpower deal is the strongest signal yet that credible industry players see potential here, and the move from non-binding MOUs to a binding agreement is real progress.

For risk-tolerant investors comfortable with pre-resource explorers, the milestones to watch are the Nigerian acquisition completion (May 2026) and the first drilling results. For everyone else, we believe waiting for proof is the smarter move. The lithium sector outlook is improving as Chinese demand stabilises, but Chariot Resources still needs to show the geology matches the story.