The company will place 145 million shares at 14.5c each, a 9% discount to the last closing price.

Fidelity International will cornerstone the issue, subscribing for 74 million shares to become a substantial shareholder.

The company's largest shareholder, AustralianSuper, will subscribe for 19 million shares to maintain its 13% stake.

New and existing Australian and Asian institutional investors also participated.

Shaw and Partners and Aitken Murray Capital Partners acted as joint lead managers, with Taylor Collison and Foster Stockbroking as co-managers.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Fidelity to our register as a substantial shareholder, and for the continued support of AustralianSuper and several other quality institutional investors in our company participating based on their strong confidence in the quality of our Piedmont lithium project and the prospects for our company," Piedmont president and CEO Keith Phillips said.

"Securing these funds will allow us to maintain our ambitious development timetable for what we believe to be the world's most strategically located lithium project."

Piedmont is looking to develop America's only hard rock lithium project in North Carolina.

The US$130 million Piedmont mine has an initial 13-year life to produce 170,000 tonnes per annum of 6% spodumene, plus by-products.

The company is also looking at a phase two chemical plant from 2023.

A definitive feasibility study is due in the second half of this year, with the funds raised to be applied to the work.

Piedmont shares last closed at A16.5c, valuing the company at about $110 million.