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Flynn Gold Limited (ASX: FG1, “Flynn” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce results from its in-fill soil sampling program at its 100% owned Mt Dove lithium-gold project in Western Australia. The program was designed to evaluate multiple lithium and gold anomalies outlined from the Company’s 2022 Ultra-fine fraction (UFF) soil sampling program.1
Highlights
- Seven high priority lithium anomalies confirmed and enhanced by in-fill soil sampling at the Mt Dove Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia
- Coherent lithium anomalies extend up to 3,100m length within predominantly shallow sand covered eastern part of licence area
- Outcropping pegmatite samples, with high rubidium (max 0.14% Rb) identified within the highest priority lithium anomaly
- Project located near world class Pilgangoora (ASX:PLS) and Wodgina (ASX:MIN) lithium mines and Hemi gold deposit (ASX:DEG)
- Mt Dove Project also near recent lithium pegmatite discoveries at Tabba Tabba (ASX:WC8) and Pippingarra (ASX:IND)
- Planning underway for design and permitting of a first pass aircore drilling program to cover high-priority targets
The Mt Dove project is located approximately 25km NNW of Mineral Resources’ (ASX: MIN) Wodgina Lithium Mine, 34km WNW of Pilbara Minerals’ (ASX: PLS) Pilgangoora Lithium Mine, 12km SE of De Grey Mining’s (ASX: DEG) Hemi gold deposit, 45km SW of Wildcat Resources’ (ASX: WC8) Tabba Tabba lithium deposit and 41km SSW of Industrial Metals’ (ASX: IND) Pippingarra lithium prospect in the Pilbara region (see Figure 1).
Managing Director and CEO, Neil Marston commented,
“The Mt Dove in-fill soil sampling program has confirmed seven broad areas of lithium and associated pathfinder element anomalism, highlighting the exciting lithium potential of the project.
“Flynn has recently commenced an accelerated work program on its Mt Dove, Lake Johnston and Forrestania lithium projects in Western Australia.”
“The projects are located close to world class lithium deposits and some exciting new discoveries including the Tabba Tabba and Pippingarra projects in the Pilbara and the Burmeister, Jaegermeister and Mt Gordon prospects in the Lake Johnston region.
“The aim of our fieldwork has been to identify pegmatite bodies across our tenements from mapping, sampling and target generation for drill testing. We look forward to providing updates to shareholders on our exploration progress including the plans for our first drill program.”
Figure 1: Flynn Gold Limited’s Mt Dove project location plan.
Soil Sampling Program
The results from an in-fill soil sampling program at the Mt Dove project (E45/5055) have been received and have outlined seven high priority coherent lithium anomalies with associated pathfinder geochemistry and eleven lower priority, less coherent lithium anomalies (Figure 2). The program has been successful in confirming and enhancing the seven high priority lithium geochemical anomalies and in providing further detail of the pathfinder zonation trends (refer to Table 1 and Appendix 1 for further details).
The seven high priority anomalies reveal broad areas of lithium soil anomalism extending between 600m and 3,100m in length and between 200m and 1,000m in width. The soil anomalies have been defined by clusters of samples which are greater than 75ppm Li (+160ppm Li2O) for the original UFF samples and greater than 21ppm Li (+45ppm Li2O) for the recent -2mm soil samples. These are considered significant anomalies particularly when taking into account the supporting associated pathfinder anomalism and trends (Figures 5 - 9).
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Flynn Gold
Investor Insights
Flynn Gold’s large, high-grade gold footprint in Tasmania provides a compelling investor proposition that leverages a continuing gold bull market.
Overview
Flynn Gold (ASX:FG1) is an Australian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of projects in Tasmania and Western Australia.
Tasmania is home to several world-renowned deposits and is rich in diverse mineral resources and operating mines. The region has established mining districts, excellent infrastructure such as rail and ports, and a skilled workforce, with a stable political and regulatory environment. These features are a big positive for the company’s projects in this region.
The company has nine 100 percent owned tenements in Northeast Tasmania which are highly prospective for gold and tin/tungsten with three major projects — Golden Ridge, Portland and Warrentinna. In Northwest Tasmania, it has the Henty zinc-lead-silver and the Firetower gold and critical minerals projects.
Flynn Gold’s exploration at its Golden Ridge project has focused on an 9-kilometre-long granodiorite-metasediment contact zone with diamond drilling programs completed at the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects, with multiple high-grade gold vein intersections.
Apart from Tasmania, the company is building a strategic lithium and gold portfolio in Western Australia, targeting hard-rock lithium pegmatites and intrusive related gold deposits in the Pilbara region and Yilgarn Craton. Its five lithium-gold projects in Western Australia are strategically located in districts hosting large gold and lithium deposits or in regions that are relatively under-explored for lithium. Of these, three lithium-gold projects are in the Yilgarn region: Forrestania, Lake Johnston and Koolyanobbing. The remaining two are in the Pilbara region: Mt Dove and Yarrie.
Company Highlights
- Flynn Gold is an Australian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of gold and battery metals projects in Tasmania and Western Australia.
- In Tasmania, the company holds 12 tenements spread across 1,403 sq km, including three main projects in Northeast Tasmania — Golden Ridge, Warrentinna and Portland — that are prospective for gold and tin. Moreover, it has two projects in Northwest Tasmania: the Henty zinc-lead-silver project and the Firetower gold-cobalt-tungsten-copper project.
- Flynn Gold is focused on advancing exploration and drilling at three high-grade gold projects in Tasmania - Golden Ridge, Warrentinna and Firetower.
- In Western Australia, Flynn holds 20 tenements across 1,200 sq km, including lithium-gold projects in the Pilbara and Yilgarn regions. The Yilgarn region has three lithium-gold projects: Forrestania; Lake Johnston and Koolyanobbing. The Pilbara hosts two gold-lithium projects: Mt Dove and Yarrie.
- The company’s senior leadership team has a proven track record in the mining sector to capitalize on the high resource potential of its projects.
Key Projects
Northeast Tasmania
The company is focused on three high-grade gold projects in Tasmania — Golden Ridge, Warrentinna and Firetower. The under-explored Northeast Tasmania region is interpreted to be part of the Western Lachlan Orogen, a geological extension of the rich Victorian Goldfields which boast of historical gold production of over 80 million ounces (Moz). The company’s landholding across nine 100 percent owned tenements in the region has provided it with significant potential for gold and tin discoveries.
Golden Ridge Project
Targeted for intrusive related gold system (IRGS) style mineralization, the Golden Ridge project is located 75 kilometres east of Launceston in Northeast Tasmania. Previous gold exploration at the Golden Ridge Project has been very limited with shallow historical workings located over an 9-kilometre-long granodiorite-metasediment contact zone. Flynn Gold’s exploration has focused on the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects, with diamond drilling programs completed at both locations between June 2021 and August 2023. In addition, a limited reconnaissance RC drilling program in late 2022 to test for gold mineralisation at the Link Zone confirmed the presence of shallow gold mineralisation between the Brilliant and Trafalgar prospects, highlighting the significant gold potential of the granodiorite-metasediment contact zone.
Drilling at Trafalgar consisted of 14 holes for 5,218.3 metres with multiple vein intersections grading >100 grams per ton (g/t) gold reported. The best intersections recorded in drilling at Trafalgar were 16.8 g/t gold over 12.3 metres (from 108.7 to 121 metres), including 0.7m at 152.5 g/t gold and 23.7 g/t gold over 4 metres (from 23 to 27 metres), including a high-grade zone of 0.5 metre at 169.8 g/t gold.
Soil sampling at the Golden Ridge project has been progressively undertaken since an initial sampling trial using the UltraFine+ technique was initiated in May 2022. The results of this soil sampling have highlighted the known prospect areas, as well as several new target areas at Grenadier and Big Penny, with gold anomalism not associated with historical workings.
Phase 3 drilling has commenced at the Trafalgar high-grade gold prospect confirming the continuity of multiple sub-parallel high-grade gold veins.
New high-grade gold discoveries have also been made at the Link Zone and Trafalgar North prospects.
At the Link Zone, mapping and vein sampling within the historic Golden Ridge adit has identified a significant new zone of high-grade gold mineralisation with underground grab sampling of mineralised veins in the adit recorded high-grade gold assays including 64.4 g/t gold, 37.6 g/t gold and 15.9 g/t gold.
At Trafalgar North, a high-grade gold vein zone has been discovered in trenching 250 m north of the historic Trafalgar mine with 17 out of 36 grab rock chip samples assayed over 10 g/t gold, including 99.4 g/t gold, 76.6 g/t gold and 67.1 g/t gold. Drilling at Trafalgar North commenced in July 2024.
Warrentinna Project
The Warrentinna project was acquired in 2023 from Greatland Gold plc (LSE:GGP). The project is located in northeast Tasmania and covers an area of approximately 37 sq km immediately adjacent to Flynn’s existing Lyndhurst Project. The tenement encompasses two historic goldfields, Forester and Warrentinna. Both fields produced high-grade gold deposits in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Warrentinna goldfield is defined by numerous historic workings and largely untested prospects over a strike length of 6 kilometres.
Initial drilling by Flynn in September/October 2023 at Warrentinna consisted of two diamond drill holes, designed to test the continuity and extension of orogenic style gold mineralisation identified in historical drilling. The holes are also designed to provide stratigraphic and structural information critical to advancing understanding of the project.
Portland Project
The Portland gold project comprises three adjacent tenements: Portland, Telegraph and Cameron Tin. The project falls within the region mined historically from 1870 to 1917 and has similarities to Victorian geology with high-grade “Fosterville-style” gold mineralization confirmed. Geochemical surveys and costean sampling programs at Portland confirmed the presence of anomalous gold zones. Drilling at the Grand Flaneur prospect in 2022 and the Popes prospect in 2023 have both confirmed the presence of gold mineralization.
Northwest Tasmania
The company has two projects in the Northwest Tasmania region: the Firetower project and the Henty zinc project.
Firetower Project
The project was acquired in 2023 from Greatland Gold plc (LSE:GGP). The project spans more than 62 sq kms and represents an advanced gold plus battery metals project, which includes three notable prospects: Firetower, Firetower East and Firetower West. The Firetower project lies in the highly mineralized Mt Read volcanic sequence which hosts major polymetallic base metals and gold deposits such as Hellyer and Rosebery, copper-gold deposits such as Mt Lyell (3 million tons contained copper, 3.1 Moz contained gold), and the Henty gold mine (1.64 Moz gold @ 12.5 g/t gold).
Resampling of the historic core at Firetower has confirmed the significant potential for gold and critical minerals - cobalt, tungsten and copper. The results have made it clear this project represents an exciting polymetallic opportunity. The company completed a diamond drilling program in late 2023 to target both the gold and polymetallic minerals potential.
The drilling program was successful in testing for depth extensions of the main mineralised zone with the results demonstrating the continuity of polymetallic mineralisation and highlighting the significant potential for high-grade mineralisation to continue at depth and along strike.
Henty Zinc Project
The project is a 130 sq. km land holding under two 100 percent owned exploration licences and provides the company with a dominant position in a rich base metals field with proximity to an existing zinc/lead concentrate producer (MMG’s Rosebery mine).
The Henty Project has a significant pipeline of exploration targets with the Mariposa and Grieves Siding prospects ready for resource drilling
Western Australia
Flynn holds five gold-lithium projects in the resources-rich state of Western Australia, strategically located near large gold and lithium deposits or in regions that are relatively under-explored for lithium.
The five projects include: Mt. Dove and Yarrie in the Pilbara region; and Koolyanobbing, Forrestania and Lake Johnston in the Yilgarn.
Mt Dove Project
Located 70 kilometres south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region, Mt Dove comprises four granted licences and one tenement application covering 190 sq. kms. The project is located near the large Hemi gold deposit (De Grey Mining, ASX:DEG) and the large lithium mines at Pilgangoora and Wodgina. The company has completed two soil sampling programs at Mt Dove, which have identified lithium and gold anomalies. The follow-up exploration, which is likely to include aircore drilling, intends to test lithium and gold anomalies identified during the soil sampling program completed in 2022 and 2023.
Yarrie Project
The Yarrie Project comprises two tenements and one application covering 385 sq. kms. Very limited historical exploration has been undertaken for lithium, gold and copper on the project. The project is highly prospective for iron ore, being close to historic mining operations and existing rail infrastructure.
Forrestania Project
The Forrestania project consists of one exploration licence and five exploration licence applications over a 320 sq km area. It is located near the Mt Holland lithium deposit (Wesfarmers (ASX:WES)/ SQM (NYSE:SQM) JV) and the high-grade nickel deposit at Flying Fox (IGO Limited (ASX:IGO)).
Results from the company’s auger soil sampling program, completed on E77/2915, outlined four high-priority lithium anomalies of up to 4,200 metres in length and 500 metres in width.
Lake Johnston Project
Lake Johnston consists of three exploration licences over a 110 sq. km area, and is located near the recent Burmeister and Jaegermeister lithium discoveries of TG Metals (ASX:TG6)) and the Medcalf, Mount Gordon, Lake Percy and Mt Day Lithium projects.
Koolyanobbing Project
Koolyanobbing comprises one exploration licence and two applications targeting gold and lithium mineralization over an 82 sq. km. area in the Marda-Diemals greenstone belt.
Parker Dome Project
In addition to the above-mentioned projects, Flynn has secured an option agreement to purchase two exploration licences at the Parker Dome project in Western Australia, which is considered highly prospective for lithium. The Parker Dome project covers 42 sq. kms. and is situated 50 kilometres north of the world-class Mount Holland lithium project in Western Australia.
Results from soil sampling have identified multiple, large-scale, high-priority lithium anomalies. The licences are fully permitted allowing for an immediate commencement of drilling.
Management Team
Clive Duncan – Non-executive Chair
Clive Duncan has over four decades of experience at big box hardware chain Bunnings, including as chief operating officer and company director. He has rich experience in corporate and business development, including mergers and acquisitions, business integrations, corporate government, strategy development and marketing. He has completed post-graduate studies at Harvard University and London Business School and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a long-term significant shareholder of Flynn Gold’s predecessor companies.
Neil Marston – Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Neil Marston was appointed managing director in May 2023 and has been the company CEO since August 2022. He has more than 30 years of experience in the mining and minerals exploration sector and is a proven ASX-listed company leader, with a strong governance and corporate finance background. Previously, he held several senior roles including managing director at Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) and Horseshoe Metals (ASX:HOR).
Sam Garrett – Technical Director
Sam Garrett has more than 30 years of exploration management, project assessment and operational experience with multinational and junior mining and exploration companies, including Phelps Dodge and Cyprus Gold. He has a background in copper and gold exploration with strong exposure to iron ore, base metals and specialist commodities. He is associated with discoveries at Mt Elliott (copper), Havieron (copper-gold), and Tujuh Bukit (gold). Moreover, he co-founded Flynn Gold and its predecessor Pacific Trends Resources.
John Forwood – Non-executive Director
John Forwood is a director and chief investment officer of Lowell Resources Funds Management (LRFM). He is qualified as a lawyer and geologist and has more than 20 years of resources financing experience, including with ASX-listed Lowell Resources Trust (ASX:LRT), as a director of RMB Resources, and as manager of Telluride Investment Trust.
Chariot Corporation
Investor Insights
Chariot Corporation presents a unique value proposition for seasoned investors, with its strategic ownership of the largest land package for lithium exploration in the US and a portfolio of non-core assets providing significant revenue opportunities.
Overview
Chariot Corporation (ASX:CC9) is the largest landholder for lithium exploration in the US. It has a strategy to target both hardrock lithium in Wyoming and claystone lithium in Nevada and Oregon. The flagship Black Mountain project in Wyoming has shown significant mineralization with grades of up to 6.68 percent Li2O from rock chip samples. Chariot’s six other hard rock projects in Wyoming span 443 claims covering 3,585 hectares.
The second flagship project, Resurgent, has the second largest land position in the McDermitt Caldera, which hosts the two largest lithium resources discovered to date (Thacker Pass with 44.5 million tons (Mt) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and McDermitt at 21.5 Mt LCE). The recent $955-million investment in Thacker Pass by General Motors indicates interest from automakers looking to secure a supply of battery raw materials. The McDermitt Caldera’s size and scale potential present an opportunity for Automotive OEMs, battery manufacturers and others to obtain large-scale supply to meet their growth plans.
As the world's demand for lithium continues to grow, Chariot's exploration and development efforts in the US are well-timed and offer investors exposure to the rapidly growing lithium market.
The company believes its two core projects, Black Mountain and Resurgent, represent early, prospective lithium opportunities in the United States. Chariot has completed its phase 1 drill program at the Black Mountain project consisting of nine shallow holes, drilled from a total of 1,132 metres. Phase 2 drilling has commenced, which includes up to 18 drill holes targeting a high-grade spodumene resource to support the establishment of a pilot mine.
Chariot Corporation announced a revised strategy for the Black Mountain hard rock lithium project to establish a small-scale “pilot mine”. Chariot aims to supply spodumene concentrate to several lithium hydroxide refineries under construction in the southwestern United States. Strategically located in Wyoming, Chariot can leverage Wyoming’s small-mine permit system to provide short-term cash flow and potentially optimize the development of larger-scale mining operations in the future.
Chariot boasts a world-class team with strong track records in mining, exploration and the financial services sectors. The management has significant corporate and investment banking experience. CEO, Shanthar Pathmanathan was an oil and investment banker with Macquarie and Deutsche Bank. On the geological side, Neil Stuart who is a non-executive director is a lithium industry veteran having previously founded Orocobre Ltd (which merged with Galaxy Resources and later with Livent) to form Arcadium Lithium, one of the largest lithium producers in the world which has recently been acquired by Rio Tinto. The exploration team is led by Dr. Edward Max Baker, a geologist with over 40 years of experience and several discoveries. He was the chief geologist at Newcrest Mining, MIM Holdings, Rennison Goldfields and Mount Isa Mines. The collective experience of the management team, from investment banking (with fundraising and M&A experience) to resource discoveries, will be useful in advancing the company’s core projects.
Company Highlights
- Chariot Corporation is a mineral exploration company focused on discovering and developing high-grade and near-surface lithium opportunities in the US.
- Chariot holds the largest land position for lithium exploration in the US with hard rock lithium and claystone hosted lithium exploration assets.
- The company commenced trading on the ASX in October 2023 after closing a highly sought-after and oversubscribed AU$9 million initial public offering (which is in addition to AU$14.8 million being raised privately to assemble the portfolio).
- It is currently focused on its two core projects in the US: (1) the Black Mountain project, a hard rock lithium project located in Wyoming; and (2) the Resurgent project, a claystone lithium project located in Oregon and Nevada.
- Chariot also holds an exploration pipeline of six projects in Wyoming including Copper Mountain, South Pass, Tin Cup, Barlow Gap, Pathfinder and JC projects. These projects are prospective for hard rock lithium.
- Through the company’s interest in Mustang Lithium, Chariot also has exposure to two claystone projects where substantial initial drilling has been completed - Horizon Lithium and Halo Lithium. Horizon Lithium has a lithium resource estimate of 1.3 million tonnes indicated LCE and 8.8 million tonnes LCE inferred.
- Chariot recently announced a revised strategy for the Black Mountain hard rock lithium project to develop a small-scale “pilot mine” to supply spodumene concentrate to several lithium hydroxide refineries under construction in the southwestern United States.
- Chariot also holds interests in several projects that have been either sold or conditionally divested through option agreements to publicly listed companies. A publicly listed counterparty operates each of the divested projects and depending upon the particular transaction, the projects generate additional revenue for Chariot in the form of future payments and royalties.
- Chariot offers investors exposure to the nascent and rapidly growing US lithium market.
Key Projects
Black Mountain Project, Wyoming
The Black Mountain project is Chariot’s flagship hard rock lithium project located in Natrona County, approximately midway between Casper and Riverton, Wyoming. Chariot initially held a 91.9 percent stake in the project with 134 mining claims covering 878 hectares. In 2024, the company expanded the project with 218 contiguous claims resulting in a 206 percent increase in project tenure area. Black Mountain now comprises 352 claims covering 2,686 hectares of tenure which subsequently increased Chariot's ownership interests in its Wyoming lithium portfolio to 93.9 percent.
The project is well-serviced by existing roads and infrastructure. The claim area was acquired via claim staking of public land administered by the US Bureau of Land Management.
The project features large pegmatite outcrops at the surface with spodumene and tantalum mineralisation. Surface rock chip samples returned assays of up to 6.38 percent lithium oxide.
Black Mountain may represent a significant hard rock lithium opportunity in a tier-1 mining jurisdiction in the US. The asset features an excellent combination of geological factors, and a supportive regulatory regime and is located in a largely unpopulated part of Wyoming.
In connection to the company’s shift to establishing a pilot mine, the following factors relating to the Black Mountain Project render it particularly suitable for this goal:
- Indications of near-surface lithium mineralization at Black Mountain make it suitable for a shallow, open-pit pilot mine.
- Wyoming’s advantageous small-mine permit system offers a pathway for small mine permits that does not impose limits on the mineral volume which can be extracted but rather places annual limits on the mining activities to 10 acres (4.05 hectares) of disturbance and 35,000 cubic yards (26,760 cubic metres) of overburden removal (refer Part 3 of this announcement).
- Black Mountain’s proximity to US lithium hydroxide refineries currently under construction in the southwestern United States is expected to provide a geographic advantage in marketing product extracted from the mine.
Resurgent Project, Nevada and Oregon
The Resurgent project is a claystone-hosted lithium project located in the McDermitt Caldera in Oregon and Nevada. The company owns a 79.4 percent stake in this project. The Resurgent project comprises 1,450 claims covering 12,128 hectares and is further subdivided into two principal claim areas, identified as ‘Resurgent North’ and ‘Resurgent East.’ Chariot has the second-largest land position in the McDermitt Caldera, which hosts two of the largest lithium mineral resources in North America, with a combined mineral resource estimate of over 40 Mt LCE - Thacker Pass at 19.1 Mt LCE and McDermitt at 21.5 Mt LCE.
The Resurgent North project targets the same sedimentary units that host Jindalee Resources' (ASX:JRL) McDermitt project with a mineral resource estimate of 21.5 Mt LCE. A surface sampling campaign at Resurgent North conducted in 2021 involving 289 samples returned values as high as 3,865 ppm lithium (over three times typical lithium claystone MRE cut-off grade). Of the 289 samples, 70 samples returned values greater than 100 ppm lithium, 20 samples returned values greater than 1,000 ppm lithium and 10 samples returned values greater than 2,000 ppm lithium.
The Resurgent East project targets the same sedimentary units that host Lithium Americas’ (NYSE:LAC) Thacker Pass lithium deposit (MRE at 19.1 Mt LCE). The similarity in geological characteristics with the two largest lithium deposits in the US further validates the potential for a large-scale high-grade lithium discovery at Resurgent.
Exploration Pipeline Projects
Besides the two core projects, the company has a pipeline of six lithium exploration projects comprising 443 claims and covering 3,585 hectares. Each of them is described below:
- Copper Mountain Project: The project is located ~80 kilometres northwest of Black Mountain in Fremont County, Wyoming. It comprises 83 mining claims covering 648 hectares. Copper Mountain has a long history of prospecting and artisanal-scale production having been historically mined for mica, feldspar, beryl, lepidolite and tantalite. The company has already identified multiple pegmatite target areas and has plans for a geochemical and ground magnetics survey in addition to geological mapping.
- South Pass Project: The project is located in Fremont County, Wyoming, and comprises 214 mining claims covering 1,750 hectares. This is a large and highly prospective project with an abundance of outcropping pegmatites that occur in swarms. The company notes the individual pegmatites at the project could range up to several hundred metres wide and several thousand metres long. There has been no prior exploration for hard rock lithium in the South Pass project area.
- Regional Wyoming Exploration Pipeline Projects: It comprises four hard rock lithium mining projects namely Tin Cup, Pathfinder, Barlow Gap and JC, comprising 146 mining claims covering 1,146 hectares.
- Barlow Gap Project: This project is located in Natrona County, Wyoming, and comprises 60 mining claims covering 501 hectares. This is an early-stage hard rock lithium exploration project with outcropping pegmatites on a northeast trend.
- Tin Cup Project: The project is located in Fremont County, Wyoming, and comprises 45 mining claims covering 376 hectares. There is a long history of exploration at The Tin Cup mining district dating back to 1907. The region has been known for small-scale mining for gold, copper and various gemstones including red jasper, ruby and jade. This is an early-stage hard rock lithium exploration project with outcropping pegmatites.
- Pathfinder Project: This is an early-stage hard rock lithium project located in Natrona County, and comprises 32 mining claims covering 234 hectares.
- JC Project: Located in Fremont County, Wyoming, the project comprises nine mining claim blocks spanning 75 hectares. This is an early-stage hard rock lithium exploration project that features several small excavation pits and outcropping pegmatite dykes.
Divestment Projects
Chariot has been actively focused on creating value via divestment of selected lithium assets in its portfolio, which include the following assets: Lithic & Mustang (ownership 21.4 percent) and the WA Lithium portfolio (Chariot was the 100 percent owner of this property prior to the sale to St George Mining Ltd). In addition, Chariot through its interest in Mustang Lithium has exposure to the Horizon and Halo claystone lithium projects in Nevada, USA. Both projects have completed drilling campaigns and Horizon announced a resource of 1.3 million tonnes LCE and 8.8 million tonnes LCE inferred. These divestments and interests have the potential to generate more gross proceeds (cash and stock-based consideration) for Chariot in addition to future royalty payments.
The company has identified four more projects for divestment: Lida project (Nevada), Amargosa project (Nevada), Nyamukono project (Zimbabwe), and Mardabilla project (Western Australia).
Management Team
Shanthar Pathmanathan – Managing Director
Shanthar Pathmanathan has 14 years of investment banking experience in the metals and mining, oil and gas and chemicals sectors. He was the CEO and managing director of Lithium Consolidated, an ASX-listed company, which had one of the largest portfolios of hard rock lithium exploration assets, globally. Before that, he held various investment roles with Deutsche Bank and Macquarie Group. He has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia.
Frederick Forni – Executive Director
Frederick Forni is a senior finance professional with over 25 years of investment banking experience. He was a former senior managing director of Macquarie Holdings (USA) and held non-executive director roles with numerous Macquarie Group entities and GLI Finance. He holds a B.A. in economics from Connecticut College, a J.D., awarded cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and an LL.M. in taxation from New York University Law School.
Neil Stuart – Non-executive Director
Neil Stuart is an exploration geologist with over 40 years' of experience and is a member of The Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He was a founding director of Orocobre Limited, now Alkem (ASX:AKE). He has considerable experience across several commodities and was heavily involved in project delineation and acquisition in Australia, Mexico and Argentina. Over the last 20 years, he was involved with the exploration and commercial development of lithium projects. Stuart is on the board of numerous ASX-listed companies and is a graduate of the University of Melbourne (BSc.) and James Cook University (MSc.).
Dr. Edward Max Baker – Geological Consultant
Dr. Edward Max Baker is a Ph.D. geologist and a fellow of AusIMM. Baker has over 40 years of experience and has made several discoveries. Baker was chief geologist for Newcrest Mining, MIM Holdings, Rennison Goldfields and Mount Isa Mines. Baker was co-founder and previously a vice-president of exploration at New York Stock Exchange-listed Integra Resources (NYSE:ITRG).
Ramesh Chakrapani – Chief Strategy Officer
Ramesh Chakrapani has over 20 years of experience in the investment banking and alternative asset investing space. Of which, over 15 years were spent at The Blackstone Group where he was a managing director and a member of the Hedge Fund Solutions Special Situations Investing Group. Chakrapani has invested across a diverse set of industries, asset classes, geographies and liquidity profiles, and has represented The Blackstone Group on the boards of selected investments. He has a B.A. from Yale University.
David Bethke – Exploration Geologist
David Bethke is an exploration geologist with 6 years of experience working primarily in the Mountain West and Alaska regions of the United States, specializing in both gold and lithium deposits. During his career, he has worked closely with companies such as Jindalee and United Lithium to explore, sample, drill, and map lithium deposits hosted in both hard rock and claystone. In Alaska, he has worked in production for multiple well-known gold mining companies, including Coeur Mining and Northern Star Resources. David graduated cum laude from the University of Idaho with degrees in geology and Spanish.
Updated Commercial Development Plan for North America’s First Lithium Brine Production Facility
HIGHLIGHTS
- Updated strategic phased development plan has been implemented for the Prairie Lithium Project.
- Phase I will see the Prairie Lithium Project go into production at Pad #1 using a commercial-scale DLE unit capable of producing 150tpa of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE).
- To get into production, only AUD35m (USD22m) required to spend on Phase 1 CAPEX.
- Non-dilutive capital initiatives currently being considered with multiple potential strategic partners completing extensive due diligence on the Prairie Lithium Project, in addition to existing Government grants and loans being considered as well as traditional debt financing solutions.
- First commercial production marks the first Company in North America to reach this milestone.
- De-risking by a commercial scale proof of concept allows production to be increased by rapid replication of the process at Pad #1.
- Construction work will commence at Pad #1 in Q2 2025.
- Phase 2 will immediately expand the facility with additional commercial-scale DLE units. Additional units can be rapidly deployed to increase production at Pad #1. Phase III will see the Pad design replicated across the already drilled and de-risked Pad #2, and Pad #3. Additional Pad locations are also being finalised in 2025.
- Grey Owl Engineering has been engaged for facility engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC). Grey Owl is a leading Western Canadian oil & gas facilities engineering company.
- The Prairie Lithium Project in Canada is perfectly positioned to feed battery-grade lithium carbonate into the mature Asian battery market. Battery-grade samples produced from the Prairie project are currently being distributed and tested in Asia.1
Phase I will see the project go into production at Pad #1 using a commercial-scale Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) unit capable of producing 150 Tonnes Per Annum (“TPA”) Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (“LCE”). The lithium produced will be used to de-risk end market opportunities where battery-grade samples are currently being tested by interested groups in Asia. Phase I will process brine at a rate of approximately 1,000m3 per day. It is critical to process raw brine at this commercial scale to de-risk the temperature, pressure and chemical constituents of the brine while feeding a commercial scale DLE unit 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. A video rendering of Phase I at Pad #1 has been prepared and can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/mUNExsUBjfo
This will represent one of the world's largest DLE facilities and provide the guidance required to scale up production cost-effectively across the Prairie Project shortly thereafter. Upon commissioning and operating at this scale, the Company will have significantly de-risked the process and proceed to Phase II.
Phase II will see the immediate expansion of production on Pad #1. Phase II expansion will highlight the benefits of modularised scale-up as additional commercial-scale DLE units will be rapidly deployed. Additional wells will also be drilled to maximise production from Pad #1.
Phase III will see the replication of the wells and facility at Pad #1, applied to Pad #2, Pad #3 and additional Pads that are currently being identified.
Figure 1: Rendering of site layout and facility for Phase I at Pad #1
Arizona Lithium Managing Director, Paul Lloyd, commented:“We are excited to share additional details about our plans for the Prairie Project. In 2023, a PFS was released that highlighted lithium production across three pad locations from the Prairie Project. In 2024, we partnered with three landowners to secure the three pad locations and immediately went to work permitting and clearing the ground for the pads. A major drilling program was then executed across those three pads, which significantly de-risked the project and put us in a position to continue development toward production. 2025 will be a year of facility construction and commissioning Phase I at Pad #1. Our phased development plan clearly articulates how we will continue to de-risk and develop the project. Modularisation allows rapid and cost-effective scale-up to increase production in Phase II and III.”
About the Prairie Lithium Project
AZL’s Prairie Lithium Project is located in the Williston Basin of Saskatchewan, Canada. Located in one of the world’s top mining friendly jurisdictions, the project has easy access to key infrastructure including electricity, natural gas, fresh water, paved highways, and railroads. The project also aims to have strong environmental credentials, with Arizona Lithium targeting to use less freshwater, land and waste, aligning with the Company’s sustainable approach to lithium development.
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This article includes content from Arizona Lithium, 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.
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