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Pursuit Minerals
Overview
Pursuit Minerals Ltd. (ASX:PUR) is a top-tier lithium exploration and development company. The company is focused on its flagship Rio Grande Sur lithium project in the Salta Province of Argentina. The project is strategically located in an area known as the Lithium Triangle which hosts 50 percent of the global lithium resources and 40 percent of the current global lithium production. Argentina is the world’s third largest producer of lithium, behind Australia and Chile.
The project spans an area of 9,260 hectares on the Rio Grande Salar and is adjacent to several operating lithium mines and development operations, including Acradium Lithium’s Fenix lithium mine and the Olaroz lithium mine. The Rio Grande Salar holds a historical Ni 43-101 resource declared by LSC Lithium, formerly listed on the TSX prior to being acquired by Plus Petrol of 2.1 million tons (Mt) of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with an average grade of 370 milligrams per litre (mg/L). This resource was mostly obtained from shallow drilling to 100 metres.
Pursuit delivered a maiden JORC Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 251.3 kt LCE at 351 mg/L at the Rio Grande Sur project. The inferred resource relies on recent geophysical surveys and historical drilling, encompassing only a small portion of the known mineralization. Notably, excluding the highly promising Mito tenement from the current MRE highlights the unexplored potential for further resource expansion.
Pursuit has commenced its Stage 1 maiden drill program focused on upgrading the inferred resource. The drilling is anticipated to reach depths of 500 to 600 metres below surface, significantly deeper than the existing defined JORC mineral resource depth. Other companies in the region have obtained impressive results and grades of 900 mg/Li+ at depths of 500 metres, some of the highest known grades in Argentina. Pursuit expects a material resource upgrade in the second half of 2024 which will build on the inferred maiden resource.
Drill cores and packer lithium brine samples from Pursuit’s Stage 1 drilling program at the Rio Grande Sur Project.
In addition to having an attractive lithium resource, Pursuit is focused on the production of lithium carbonate to meet the supply side response to growing lithium demand. Recently, the company announced the first phase of operations of its 250 tons per annum (tpa) pilot plant to produce lithium carbonate. The plant will generate both technical and battery grade lithium carbonate at a purity of 99.95 percent, employing a conventional evaporation process.
Pursuit has submitted advanced environmental permits for the construction of the 250 tpa evaporation ponds and Stage 2 drill program at the northern tenement of the Rio Grande Sur project.
The establishment of the ponds is expected to take place in the latter part of 2024, pending environmental approvals. The ponds and the plant are planned to be situated on the Sal Rio 02 tenement enabling the possibility of initiating the first production of lithium carbonate on-site in 2025.
Pursuit is targeting continuous production at Rio Grande Salar and expects the current setup to be scalable to produce 15,000 to 20,000tpa of technical and battery grade lithium carbonate.
250-ton lithium carbonate pilot plant
The company’s focus on Argentina has several advantages. The new government, led by its president Javier Milei has signaled a market-friendly and pro-business policy shift. This should be a positive development for lithium miners given that Argentina has one of the largest lithium reserves in the world. Argentina holds 21 percent of the world’s 105 million tons of lithium resources, second only to Bolivia, according to the United States Geological Survey’s Lithium Statistics and Information 2024 report.
Lithium is in great demand driven by the growth in electric vehicles (EVs). Bloomberg NEF estimates lithium demand to jump by 225 percent to 2.6 Mt of LCE by 2030, translating into a CAGR of 16 percent. In a net-zero scenario, Bloomberg pegs the demand at 3.6 Mt of LCE by 2030, a CAGR of 19 percent.
The company remains focused on project execution that will deliver long-term shareholder value, including the completion of stage 1 drilling, JORC resource upgrade, first production of lithium carbonate and increasing production capacity to 250 tpa, and receipt of environmental permits, all within the first half of 2024.
In addition, Pursuit has identified the following catalysts over the next 12 months:
- Q3/Q4 2024: start of evaporation pond construction at Rio Grande, off-take agreement, relocation of 250 tpa pilot plant to Rio Grande.
- Q4 2024/Q1 2025: Detailed mineral resource study for commercial scale lithium carbonate operation; stage 2 drilling and JORC resource upgrade; first production from 250 tpa plant could commence as early as Q4 of 2025.
Company Highlights
- Pursuit Minerals is an ASX-listed company focused on advancing a pre-production lithium brine operation in Argentina.
- The company’s flagship Rio Grande Sur project covers 9,233 hectares on the Rio Grande Salar, in the Salta Province of Argentina located in the Lithium Triangle. The region is home to 50 percent of global lithium resources and 40 percent of world production.
- The acreage owned by Pursuit is situated within an Ni 43-101 inferred resource of 2.1 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), with an average grade of 370 milligrams per litre (mg/L) extending to a depth of 100 metres.
- Pursuit delivered a maiden JORC Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 251.3 kt LCE at 351 mg/L at the Rio Grande Sur Project. With its current Stage 1 drilling program currently underway, Pursuit is targeting a material resource upgrade in the second quarter of 2024, which will build on the recent inferred maiden resource.
- The company has commenced the first phase of operations to produce lithium carbonate at its recently commissioned pilot plant, which is expected to achieve an operational capacity of 250 tons per annum (tpa). This is a significant milestone in the journey to advance toward the first production at Rio Grande Sur.
- Despite temporary fluctuations in lithium carbonate prices, the market continues to demonstrate resilience, with long-term projections indicating a significant 225 percent surge to reach 2.6 million tons of LCE worldwide by 2030.
Key Project
Rio Grande Sur Lithium Project
The Rio Grande Sur is the company’s flagship lithium project. The project comprises five tenements that span 9,233 hectares and are located in Rio Grande Salar in Salta province, Argentina. The region has benefited from historical exploration that yielded an NI 43-101 resource of 2.19 Mt LCE @ 374 mg/L, at inferred category.
During Q4 2023, Pursuit announced a maiden JORC inferred mineral resource estimate of 251.3 kt LCE at 351 mg/L at the Rio Grande Sur project. Following this, Pursuit is currently undertaking a maiden drill program to upgrade the inferred resource. Stage 1 of the drill program will comprise four diamond drill holes on the southern tenements. The first two holes will be drilled at the Sal Rio II and Maria Magdelena tenements.
The drilling is anticipated to reach depths of 500 to 600 metres below surface, significantly deeper than the existing defined JORC mineral resource depth. The drilling commenced in Q1 2024, and Pursuit is targeting a material resource upgrade in the second quarter of 2024. Further drilling is expected following the completion of the Stage 1 program. The Stage 2 drilling program is anticipated to occur in the second half of 2024, after which Pursuit is targeting a feasibility study.
Management Team
Aaron Revelle – Chief Executive Officer
Aaron Revelle is a seasoned mining executive with experience in founding and developing natural resources companies. He has over 15 years of experience across a wide range of commodities and bringing them from deposits into production. He was the founder of Trilogy Minerals, which was acquired by Pursuit, and Centaur Resources, which focused on its flagship Pastos Grandes lithium project and was sold to Arena Minerals, and subsequently sold to Lithium Americas for over AU$300 million.
Peter Wall - Chairman
Peter Wall is a partner with Steinepreis Paganin, a leading law firm, and has rich experience in M&A, takeovers, recapitalizations, and reconstructions. He has significant expertise in various domains such as energy, resources, capital markets, and strategy. He is also the chairman of Minbos Resources.
Tom Eadie – Non-Executive Director
Tom Eadie is a director on the company board. He has over four decades of rich experience in the resource industry. Currently, he is the chairman of Alderan Resources and Southern Cross Gold. He was also the founding chairman of Syrah Resources.
Vito Interlandi – Company Secretary
Vito Interlandi is the managing partner at Nexia Melbourne and is responsible for corporate advisory. He has two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and capital markets and has served on the boards of several public and private companies.
This profile was written in collaboration with Couloir Capital.
High Grade Gold Trenching Program and Reassessment of Shuttered Gold Mines – Central Queensland
- A follow-up trenching program has been planned at the Big Red Gold Project, Queensland.
- Previous trenching at Big Red returned high grade gold results including 9m @ 5.9g/t Au, with gold mineralisation remaining open along strike.
- Interpreted strike length over Big Red currently exceeds 450m with probable further concealed extensions beneath sandy loam surficial cover.
- The Company’s Gold projects are located in the Drummond Basin in central Queensland – an under- developed region with a long history of ongoing gold mining region with an endowment of over 8.5 million ounces.
- A reassessment of two shuttered open pit gold mines within QXRs ground has commenced as these mines were last operated when the gold price was less than A$500/oz.
- QXR has numerous gold and copper-gold targets which will be developed towards further drilling leading to potential production scenarios with updated permitting guidelines.
High Grade Gold in Trenches at Big Red Project
Gold trenching is planned to extend current high grade gold results in trenches at the Disney-Big Red Project (ASX announcement 1 Nov 2021). Two elongate gold anomalous zones were defined over 650m and may extend up to 1200m long. Best historic trench results from hard rock at the base of trenches at Big Red were:
- Trench 1 - 9m @ 5.9 g/t Au within a mineralised zone 35m wide. Large zone 80m @1.2 g/t Au
- Trench 2- 3m @ 2.2 g/t Au within a mineralised zone 13m wide. Large zone 28m @ 1.8 g/t Au
- Trench 4 - 2m @ 23 g/t Au with a mineralised zone 7m wide. Large zone 32m @ 1.7 g/t Au
These results produced a drill ready target, but that drill program was delayed twice due to weather and soft ground (ASX announcement 13 July 2021, 31 April 2022). Further trenching is planned to extend the current zone of high-grade gold mineralisation prior to a drilling program over a number of shallow targets. The Company believes the potential of Big Red may be similar to nearby Twin Hills deposit with 1.0Moz (23.1Mt@1.5g/t Au) incl 49m @5.2g/tAu and Lone Sister 0.48Moz (12.5Mt@1.2g/t Au) incl. 28m @45.2g/t Au (c.f. ASX:GBZ announcement 5 Dec 2022, 28 Apr 2023, 9 Jun 2023)
Reassessment of Open Pit Gold Mines
A reassessment of the potential of past open pit gold mines is underway. The two open cut mines, Belyando and Lucky Break, were closed when gold was less than A$500/oz. Drilling data by QXR and previous explorers shows potential exists for down dip extensions to known gold mineralised zones and parallel features, as well as extensions along strike.
QXR Managing Director, Stephen Promnitz, said: “QXR has excellent potential for a gold discovery at Big Red in Queensland, which will be followed-up in the planned trenching program and followed later by a drill program, previously delayed due to inclement weather. Nearby closed open pit gold mines were operating at much lower gold prices and show potential for future production as part of a reassessment of their potential.”
Next Steps
Trenching
A new program of trenching at Big Red Project (Disney) is an initial phase to extend two north-east trending elongate zones previously encountered in QXR trenches with high grade gold results occurring over a strike length of 650 metres. The zones may potentially be up to 1200m long based on past soil sampling and geophysics (magnetic low zones within magnetic highs). Mineralised widths included 9m @ 5.9 g/t Au in trenches (ASX announcement 1 Nov 2021, 16 Feb 2022). Quartz breccias show textures similar to gold producing zones elsewhere in the region.
Figure 1: Big Red (Red Dog) Project –Past trenches; quartz breccias; area of past trenches (yellow rectangle) and planned extensions (orange rectangle)
Drill targets
Revised drill targets will be generated from the trenching results, merged with geophysical data. These results produced a drill ready target, but that drill program was delayed twice due to weather and soft ground (ASX announcement 13 July 2021, 31 April 2022).
Resource models
Updated resource modelling for Belyando and Lucky Break have been commissioned. Both mines show potential exists for down dip extensions to known gold mineralised zones and parallel features, as well as extensions along strike.
Background
QXR holds nearly 100,000 hectares of leases in the Drummond Basin of central Queensland – an under- developed region with a long history of ongoing gold mining region with an endowment of over 8.5 million ounces (1). Gold mineralisation is largely related to intrusives into the region with the largest producer – Pajingo (ex-Newmont) having produced 3.4 Moz since 1986 and was instrumental in the creation of gold miner Evolution when they purchased the mine from Newmont (Newcrest).
The QXR leases show potential for epithermal gold and porphyry related copper gold deposits and include two historical open pit gold mines, Belyando and Lucky Break, that were last producing when the gold price was under A$500/oz. QXR holds 85,800 Ha of exploration leases on a 100% basis and 11,500 Ha (70%QXR) in a JV with private company, Zamia Resources.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from QX Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Further MOU Extension with Aleees and NT Government
Parties have now agreed a revised project development timeline below:
The MOU builds on the ongoing project development workstreams undertaken by Avenira, Aleees and the NT government. The extension is valid until 30 June 2025.
Avenira continues to pursue the LFP battery manufacturing project following the completion of a positive Scoping Study3, which demonstrated the strong economic and technical viability of the project.
Under the September 2022 announcement, a tripartite non-binding MOU was signed whereby Avenira, Aleees and the NT Government would work towards the development of a LFP battery cathode manufacturing facility, with the NT Government assisting and advising where appropriate in relation to necessary infrastructure including water, energy, power, telecommunications, road, port and rail access and service requirements.
This agreement has been extended to 30 June 2025 to allow the NT Government to continue to provide Aleees and Avenira with support through to the completion of the next stage studies.
Commenting on the extension of the MOU, Avenira’s Charman and Chief Executive Officer, Brett Clark, said:
“The MOU extension demonstrates the continuing support of the Northern Territory Government and Aleees with this significant LFP cathode project in Darwin.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Avenira Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Substantial High-Grade Lithium Achieved Following Completion of Drill Hole 1 at Rio Grande Sur
HIGHLIGHTS
- Drillhole 1 (DDH-1) at the Maria Magdelena tenement of the Rio Grande Sur Project, has completed with substantial high grade intercepts of lithium brine discovered at depths as low as 557m.
- High-grade assays include the following intervals:
- 629mg/L (“milligrams per liter of Lithium”) from an interval of 512.75m to 518m
- 620mg/L from an interval of 115.5m to 117.5m
- 611mg/L from an interval of 258.25m to 260.25m
- 608mg/L from an interval of 495.25m to 497.25m
- 607mg/L from an interval of 369.25m to 371.25m
- Importantly, these grades over 600mg/L which were all discovered at depth are beneath the currently calculated mineral resource estimate and are expected to add to its size and grade.
- With completion of DDH-1, the crew is in the process of relocating to Sal Rio II to commence Drillhole 2 (DDH-2).
- The Stage 1 Drill Program is targeting resource growth to the existing inferred JORC resource of 251.3kt LCE @ 351mg/L1.
In relation to the progress of DDH-1 at the RGS Project, Pursuit Managing Director & CEO, Aaron Revelle, said:
“The results from DDH-1 are substantial as we demonstrate the world class potential of the Rio Grande Sur Project. With completion of DDH-1, we are continuing the important advancements we have made in our understanding of the RGS Project mineralisation, with the results continuing to demonstrate the potential large scale of the project. With outstanding high grade brine intercepts of ~600mg/L at depths of 115.5m and those grades continuing to ~520m, the project is exceeding our expectations.
“We continue to progress with permitting for the drilling program in the north of the Rio Grande Sur Project, which we intend to include in our Stage 1 program works as we target a substantial mineral resource upgrade. This is in addition to works at our Lithium Carbonate Pilot Plant which remains on track to produce our first Lithium Carbonate in the coming months, with Pursuit advancing off-take discussions with multiple requests for product samples from potential off-take partners.”
High-Grade, Deep Depth Lithium Brine Assay Results
DDH-1 of the Stage 1 drilling program completed on site at the Rio Grande Sur Project in mid-June 2024 having reached a depth of 560m.
Throughout the drilling of hole 1, the on-site geologists and drilling team have been extremely encouraged by the geological units encountered across the depths of the hole. Of particular interest, at a depth of approximately 100-130m, a highly porous sandy unit was encountered with Lithium brine grades substantially above expectation, based on historical drilling results. This zone has been earmarked as the potential location of a pumping well due to its heightened porosity and average grade of 620mg/L. As drilling continued to depth, DDH-1 continued to deliver exceptional grades averaging above 600mg/L and the presence of good quality, porous and permeable sands.
Table 1 – Lithium Assays, Interval Data and Drillhole Collar
Intercepts from DDH-1 have shown highly favourable geology in line with, and exceeding expectations from historical drilling (to depths of 50m) carried out on the Rio Grande Salar. Lithium brine sample grades from the sampling of the hole are averaging above 600mg/L against the average grade of 351mg/L used to develop the current Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”). Additionally, the mineralisation extended to a depth of ~560m also well below the depth used to develop the MRE1.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Pursuit Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Pursuit Minerals Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects