The race for lithium has mining heavyweights, battery manufacturers and automakers from Rio Tinto PLC (LSE:RIO) to Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). chasing deals with firms with even early stage or pre-production projects. Liontown, based in Perth, owns one of the most promising early-stage lithium projects in Australia, the world's top exporter of the metal. It has supply agreements with major automakers including Tesla and Ford Motor Co. US-based Albemarle, which already owns stakes in lithium mines in Australia and has a processing plant there, offered to acquire all of Liontown's equity at A$3 a share.