Galaxy Weighing Sal de Vida Partnership Offers

Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) has made further progress on its Sal de Vida lithium project in Argentina with the announcement that it has received multiple bids for strategic partnerships to develop the asset.

While the main focus at Sal de Vida as of late has been front-end engineering design (FEED) and optimization, the company has also been working to improve its operational readiness to minimize risk and maximize financial returns.

According to a statement from Galaxy, the company is currently in negotiations with potential strategic partners and has opted to extend Sal de Vida’s timeline to “ensure proper consideration” is given to each offer.

“Galaxy will only proceed with a strategic partner if the final terms of the relationship properly recognize the fundamental underlying value of Sal de Vida and the partner can add additional value to the project either through technical and/or financial input,” the statement read.

In the meantime, the company will continue to focus on developing Sal de Vida in the short term. At the moment, a geotechnical work study is underway and is expected to be completed in early 2019; additionally, further FEED initiatives will begin early this year including energy generation options.

The update comes after the company completed a US$280 million sale of a northern tenement package at Salar del Hombre Muerto to steelmaker POSCO (NYSE:PKX). The proceeds from the deal, completed in late November, were intended to help speed up development at Sal de Vida, with the company stating that project financing has been “substantially de-risked” after the sale.

Sal de Vida’s tenements have reserves of 1.14 million tonnes (Mt) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with 0.18Mt proved and 0.96Mt probable. The project has an initial 40-year lifespan and a resource of 4.92Mt LCE, with 1.96Mt measured, 2.58Mt indicated and 0.38Mt inferred.

Galaxy shares were up 0.92 percent at the end of trading on the ASX on Wednesday (January 2), closing at AU$2.19 per stock.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.