Shares of American Battery Technology Co ( ABAT ) are trading higher Monday morning after the company announced it has completed a critical step in developing its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Nevada. Here’s what investors need to know.

What To Know: American Battery ( ABAT ) has finished all required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) baseline studies and submitted them to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. This marks a major milestone, concluding what the company said was a two-year effort involving 21 comprehensive studies.

The completion of the reports is a prerequisite for initiating the formal NEPA review and is a key step toward permitting and construction. The company has also submitted a Mine Plan of Operations as it prepares for the next phase of development.

This progress moves American Battery ( ABAT ) closer to becoming a domestic supplier of lithium, a critical component for batteries, and follows the project’s selection by the FAST-41 Permitting Council to accelerate the federal review process.

ABAT Price Action: American Battery shares were up 38.21% at $9.34 at the time of publication Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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How To Buy ABAT Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for American Battery Tech ( ABAT ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

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