The company announced it has successfully completed due diligence and secured shareholder approval to move forward with a AUD 20 million capital placement, backed by the specialist investment fund Clean Elements.
By Panorama Minero
This backing is no small feat: the fund has rated Hombre Muerto West (HMW), located in the Hombre Muerto salar in Catamarca, Argentina, as the highest-quality lithium brine resource in the world. “The technical and legal validation by Clean Elements not only reinforces the project’s viability, but also its global competitiveness,” the company stated.
With this funding, Galan is now fully financed to complete Phase 1 of construction by the end of 2025, which will enable it to begin producing lithium chloride during the first half of 2026, at an initial scale of 4,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
Why HMW Matters
In a global lithium market marked by oversupply and price volatility, HMW's competitive edge lies in three key factors, according to the company’s estimates:
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High lithium concentration: averaging 883 mg/L across the operation.
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Low impurity levels: magnesium and calcium content even lower than Chile’s Salar de Atacama.
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High recovery potential: allowing for a low-cost, highly efficient evaporation process.
“These features make HMW a project capable of producing lithium at low cost, with strong margins and a reduced environmental footprint — all critical attributes in the new energy economy,” the company added.
The deal involves a two-tranche disbursement of AUD 10 million each. The first tranche will be settled within the next five business days, and the second by November 22, 2025.
“With this backing, Galan has a clear financial runway to reach first production, without the need to return to the market in the short term.”
“With Clean Elements’ support, Galan now has the financial certainty to complete Phase 1 construction at HMW,” said CEO Juan Pablo Vargas de la Vega. “We are firmly on track to begin lithium production in 2026.”
If successful, Galan will join a select group of producers at the heart of the lithium triangle, operating in a proven jurisdiction with heavyweight neighbors such as Rio Tinto and POSCO.
