Piedmont Commences Trading In The United States And Admitted To Nasdaq International Designation

NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Piedmont Lithium Limited (ASX: PLL; OTC – Nasdaq International: PLLLY) ("Piedmont" or "Company") is pleased to advise that it has been admitted to Nasdaq International Designation and its American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") have commenced trading in the United States, via a sponsored Level 1 ADR program with The Bank of New York Mellon as depositary.

Piedmont's ADRs will trade on the OTC Market as a member of the Nasdaq International Designation under the ticker symbol "PLLLY", with each ADR representing 100 ordinary shares of the Company.

The Nasdaq International Designation and Level 1 ADR program in the United States will enable new and existing U.S. investors to trade Piedmont's ADRs in U.S. dollars and during normal U.S. trading hours. Piedmont's ordinary shares will continue to trade on the ASX under the symbol "PLL".

With the establishment of the Level 1 ADR program, the Company will now begin an extensive marketing campaign to new investors throughout the United States and will continue to build relationships with U.S. banks and brokers that have experience and knowledge of the lithium and "clean-technology" sectors.

Keith D. Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Launching an ADR program in the United States signals a key milestone as we drive development forward at our Piedmont Lithium Project in North Carolina and boost visibility among U.S. investors. We are excited to begin an extensive U.S. marketing campaign with a Nasdaq International Designation that allows investors to trade in U.S. dollars, during U.S. trading hours."

"I have been very pleased with the initial feedback from our US marketing efforts to-date and this listing is consistent with our 'U.S. asset, U.S. management, U.S. listing' strategy. We continue to be highly encouraged by the results of our Phase 2 drilling campaign and look forward to updating the market on further results from our Phase 2 drilling campaign and our project development plans for what we believe to be the world's most strategically located lithium project."

This press release has been prepared for release in Australia and nothing in this press release shall constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.  

About Nasdaq International Designation 

Launched in December 2015, the Nasdaq International Designation program is designed for non-U.S.-based companies that have level 1 American Depository Receipts or shares that trade in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. The program offers a unique partnership with Nasdaq that provides member companies with Nasdaq's robust visibility offering which allows for greater access to US investors, and can potentially increase liquidity. The Nasdaq International Designation is home to a diverse range of companies in innovative industries across the globe. Total Market Cap of Member Companies exceeds $150B and program members hail from Australia, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Canada, the U.K., and the Netherlands. As a comprehensive program, companies receive a full service offering that includes investor relations tools and services, as well as access to Nasdaq's visibility assets to enhance communication with the investment community. In the past year, members of the program were invited to the Nasdaq MarketSite with the opportunity to amplify their brand activities through different channels.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today's global capital markets. As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 89 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to 3,800 total listings with a market value of $11.0 trillion.

About BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon is the leading depositary bank, managing more sponsored depositary receipt programs than all other depositary banks combined. BNY Mellon acts as depositary for 60 percent of all sponsored programs globally — more than 1,300 sponsored programs from 68 countries. BNY Mellon is committed to helping securities issuers access the world's rapidly evolving financial markets and delivers a comprehensive suite of depositary receipt services. BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.

About Piedmont

Piedmont Lithium Limited (ASX: PLL; OTC – Nasdaq International: PLLLY) holds a 100% interest in the Piedmont Lithium Project ("Project") located within the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt ("TSB") and along trend to the Hallman Beam and Kings Mountain mines, historically providing most of the western world's lithium between 1950 and 1990. The TSB is one of the premier localities in the world to be exploring for lithium pegmatites given its history of lithium bearing spodumene mining, favorable geology and ideal location with easy access to infrastructure, power, R&D centers for lithium and battery storage, major high-tech population centers and downstream lithium processing facilities.

The TSB has previously been described as one of the largest lithium provinces in the world and is located approximately 40 kilometers west of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The TSB was the most important lithium producing region in the western world prior to the establishment of the brine operations in Chile in the late 1990's. The TSB extends over approximately 60 kilometers in length and reaches a maximum width of approximately 1.6 kilometers.

The Project was originally explored by Lithium Corporation of America which eventually was acquired by FMC Corporation ("FMC"). FMC and Albemarle Corporation ("Albemarle") both historically mined the lithium bearing spodumene pegmatites from the TSB with the historic Kings Mountain lithium mine being described as one of the richest spodumene deposits in the world by Albemarle. These two mines and their respective metallurgy also formed the basis for the design of the two lithium processing facilities in the region which were the first modern spodumene processing facilities in the western world.

Albemarle and FMC continue to operate these important lithium processing facilities with FMC's Bessemer City lithium processing facility being approximately 14 kilometers from the Project whilst Albemarle'sKings Mountain lithium processing facility is approximately 17 kilometers from the Project.

The Company is in a unique position to leverage its position as a first mover in restarting exploration in this historic lithium producing region with the aim of developing a strategic, U.S. domestic source of lithium to supply the increasing electric vehicle and battery storage markets.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Piedmont's expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Piedmont, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Piedmont makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this announcement, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of that announcement.

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SOURCE Piedmont Lithium Limited