** Shares of Australia's Scorpion Minerals SCN.AX rise as much as 19.2% to A$0.031

** Diversified miner signs MoU with Chinese battery materials manufacturer GreatPower Nickel and Cobalt Materials

** Deal to establish a lithium asset in Western Australia

** Under the agreement, Scorpion will be provided $10 mln in two stages, while GreatPower will facilitate mine development funding and receive up to 90% of offtake rights

** Around 4.1 mln shares change hands, 1.9x the 30-day average trading volume

** YTD, shares up 106.7%, including current moves

(Reporting by Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru)

((Shruti.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com))