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Atlantic Lithium
Overview
Atlantic Lithium Limited (AIM: ALL, ASX: A11,GSE: ALLGH, OTCQX:ALLIF) is an African-focused lithium exploration and development company advancing its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium project through to production as Ghana’s first lithium mine. Despite its long mining history, favourable regulatory climate and stable political backdrop, Ghana remains largely overlooked as an investment jurisdiction for battery metals. Situated on the West African coast, the country boasts a strong strategic location, between Europe, the Americas and Asia, to serve the global battery metals market. Ghana is also home to an abundance of mineral wealth, with c. 180,000 tonnes of estimated lithium resources.
Atlantic Lithium intends to produce spodumene concentrate capable of conversion to lithium hydroxide and carbonate for use in electric vehicle batteries, helping drive the transition to decarbonisation.
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) released in June 2023 shows Ewoyaa has demonstrable economic viability, low capital intensity and excellent profitability. After drilling at the new Dog-Leg target, with high-grade assay results, the JORC mineral resource estimate at Ewoyaa now stands at 36.8 million tons (Mt) at 1.24 percent lithium oxide, 81 of which is now in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories (3.7 Mt at 1.37 percent in the measured category, 26.1 Mt at 1.24 percent in the indicated category, and 7 Mt @ 1.15 percent in the Inferred category).
Through simple open-pit mining, three-stage crushing and conventional Dense Media Separation (DMS) processing, the DFS (also considering the fiscal terms agreed upon the grant of the Mining Lease for the project in October 2023) outlines the production of 3.6 Mt of spodumene concentrate over a 12-year mine life, delivering US$6.6 billion life-of-mine revenues, a post-tax NPV8 of US$1.3 billion and an internal rate of return of 94 percent.
The project is expected to deliver nameplate production from its plant as early as 2026.
As of October 2024, Atlantic Lithium has secured all the regulatory approvals to take the company closer to mine construction at the Ewoyaa project, including a granted mining lease, the Environmental Protection Agency permit, introduction and commencement of trading on the Main Market of the Ghana Stock Exchange, and finally, the receipt of the mine operating permit.
The mining lease for the Ewoyaa project has been submitted to the Ghana parliament to undergo a ratification process.
Project Funding
The development of the project is co-funded under an agreement with NASDAQ and ASX-listed Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL), with Piedmont expected to fund c. 70 percent of the US$185 million total development expenditure indicated by the DFS.
In accordance with the agreement, Piedmont has completed funding of US$25 million towards studies and exploration, and will sole fund an initial US$70 million, plus 50 percent of costs thereafter (shared 50:50 between Atlantic Lithium and Piedmont), towards the total development expenditure for the project, as indicated by the DFS.
In return, Piedmont will receive 50 percent of the spodumene concentrate produced at Ewoyaa, providing a route to consumers through several major battery manufacturers, including Tesla.
The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Ghana’s minerals sovereign wealth fund, has also agreed to invest a total of US$32.9 million in the company and at the project-level to expedite the development of the project.
Representing the first part of the Strategic Investment, MIIF completed a Subscription for US$5 million Atlantic Lithium shares in January 2024, to become a major strategic shareholder in the company.
Representing the second part of the Strategic Investment, MIIF has agreed to invest, subject to the company reaching a binding agreement with MIIF, US$27.9 million in the company's Ghanaian subsidiaries to acquire a 6 percent contributing interest in the project. The US$27.9 million project-level investment and the contributing interest are expected to take the form of funding for development, exploration and studies expenditure to support the advancement of the project.
In addition, Atlantic Lithium is in the final stages of a competitive offtake partnering process to secure funding for a portion of the remaining 50 percent available feedstock from Ewoyaa.
The objective of the process is to attract funding offers to sufficiently cover the Company's allocation of development expenditure for the Project, to expedite and de-risk the development of the Project, realise attractive terms for any offtake contracted and secure a well-credentialled partner that will support the company's and Ghana's objectives of supplying lithium into the global electric vehicle market.
The company has indicated its preferred terms of up to 500,000 tons of spodumene concentrate to be contracted over a 3- to 5-year period, using a favourable market-based pricing mechanism, for a consideration of up to US$100 million in the form of a pre-payment arrangement, which is expected to sufficiently cover the company’s allocation of development expenditure.
Ghana
Ghana is a well-established mining region with access to reliable, existing infrastructure and a significant mining workforce. There are currently 16 operating mines in the country.
Already the largest taxpayer and employer in Ghana’s Central Region, Atlantic Lithium is expected to provide direct employment to over 800 personnel at Ewoyaa and, through its community development fund, whereby 1 percent of profits will be allocated to local initiatives, will deliver long-lasting benefits to the region and Ghana.
Through its proven lithium discovery, exploration and evaluation methodologies, Atlantic Lithium has the potential to capitalise on its extensive exploration portfolio and deliver upon its objectives of becoming a leading producer of lithium in West Africa.
Company Highlights
- A lithium exploration and development company operating in West Africa, Atlantic Lithium is set to deliver its flagship Ewoyaa lithium project as Ghana’s first lithium-producing mine.
- The June 2023 definitive feasibility study for the project indicates the production of 3.6 Mt of spodumene concentrate over a 12-year mine life (steady state production of 365,000 tonnes per annum), making it one of the largest mines by production capacity globally.
- The Ewoyaa project has an updated mineral resource estimate of 36.8 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide.
- The DFS confirms Ewoyaa as one of the lowest capital and operating cost hard rock lithium projects globally, with strong commercial viability and exceptional profitability potential.
- The Ewoyaa lithium project was awarded a mining lease in October 2023, an EPA permit in September 2024, and a mine operating permit in October 2024. The project is co-funded under an agreement with Piedmont Lithium. The Ghana Environmental Protection Agency granted the EPA permit
- Atlantic Lithium holds a portfolio of lithium projects within 509 sq km and 774 sq km of granted and under-application tenure across Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire respectively.
Key Assets
Ewoyaa
Atlantic Lithium's flagship Ewoyaa lithium project is situated within 110 kilometres of Takoradi Port and 100 kilometres of Accra, with access to excellent infrastructure and a skilled local workforce.
Atlantic Lithium has been granted a mining lease, an EPA permit and a mine operating permit in respect of the project in October 2023, September 2024 and October 2024, respectively. The company is currently advancing the project towards production.
Highlights:
- Promising DFS Results: Atlantic Lithium's DFS reaffirmed Ewoyaa as an industry-leading asset with low capital intensity and excellent profitability. Highlights include:
- Estimated 12-year life of mine, producing 3.6 Mt spodumene concentrate.
- 365 ktpa steady state production
- Average LOM EBITDA of US$316 million per annum
- NPV of US$1.3 billion
- Life-of-mine revenues of US$6.6 billion
- Modest $185 million development expenditure
- Robust US$675/t All in sustaining cost and US$377 C1 cash cost.
- Favourable Location: The project's starter pits are positioned within one kilometre of its processing plant. Additionally, Ewoyaa has access to reliable existing infrastructure, located within 800 metres from the N1 highway and adjacent to grid power.
- Promising Reserves: Ewoyaa's current mineral resource estimate (as of July 2024) at is 36.8 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide, of which 81 percent is now in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories (3.7 Mt at 1.37 percent lithium oxide in the measured category, and 26.1 Mt at 1.24 percent lithium oxide in the indicated category, and 7 Mt @ 1.15 percent lithium in the inferred category).
- Potential for Further Exploration: There remains significant exploration potential, with only 1 percent of Atlantic Lithium's total tenure having been drilled to date.
- Strong Partnerships: Atlantic Lithium has a 50-percent offtake deal with Piedmont Lithium, which itself has offtake agreements with both Tesla and LG Chem, and has an agreed with Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund to expedite the development of the Project.
- Positive Presence: Atlantic Lithium will generate significant economic benefits for the region. Once operational, the project is expected to employ over 800 personnel and deliver approximately US$4.9 billion in value to Ghana, including through taxes, royalties, employment and local procurement.
Côte d'Ivoire
Atlantic Lithium currently has two applications pending for an area of roughly 774 square kilometres in the West African country of Côte d'Ivoire. The underexplored yet highly prospective region is known to be underlain by prolific birimian greenstone belts, characterised by fractionated granitic intrusive centres with lithium and colombite-tantalum occurrences and outcropping pegmatites. The area is also incredibly well-served, with extensive road infrastructure, well-established cellular network and high-voltage transmission line within 100 kilometres of the country's economic capital, Abidjan.
Management Team
Neil Herbert - Executive Chairman
Neil Herbert is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has over 30 years of experience in finance. He has been involved in growing mining and oil and gas companies, both as an executive and as an investor, for over 25 years.
Until May 2013, he was co-chairman and managing director of AIM-quoted Polo Resources, a natural resources investment company. Prior to this, Herbert was a director of resource investment company Galahad Gold, after which he became finance director of its most successful investment, the start-up uranium company UraMin, from 2005 to 2007. During this period, he worked to float the company on AIM and the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2006, raise US$400 million in equity financing and negotiate the sale of the group for US$2.5 billion.
Herbert has held board positions at a number of resource companies where he has been involved in managing numerous acquisitions, disposals, stock market listings and fundraisings. He holds a joint honours degree in economics and economic history from the University of Leicester.
Keith Muller - Chief Executive Officer
Keith Muller is a mining engineer with over 20 years of operational and leadership experience across domestic and international mining, including in the lithium sector. He has a strong operational background in hard rock lithium mining and processing, particularly in DMS spodumene processing.
Before joining Atlantic Lithium, he held roles as both a business leader and general manager at Allkem, where he worked on the Mt Cattlin lithium mine in Western Australia and, prior to that, Muller served as operations manager and senior mining engineer at Simec.
Muller holds a Master of Mining Engineering from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Pretoria. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland, and the Engineering Council of South Africa.
Amanda Harsas - Finance Director and Company Secretary
Amanda Harsas is a senior finance executive with a demonstrable track record and over 25 years’ experience in strategic finance, business transformation, commercial finance, customer and supplier negotiations and capital management. Prior to joining Atlantic Lithium, she worked in several sectors, including healthcare, insurance, retail and professional services, across Asia, Europe and the U.S. Harsas holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Kieran Daly - Non-executive Director
Kieran Daly is the executive of Growth and Strategic Development at Assore. He holds a BSc Mining Engineering from Camborne School of Mines (1991) and an MBA from Wits Business School (2001) and worked in investment banking/equity research for more than 10 years at UBS, Macquarie and Investec, prior to joining Assore in 2018.
Daly spent the first 15 years of his mining career at Anglo American’s coal division (Anglo Coal) in a number of international roles including operations, sales and marketing, strategy and business development. Among his key roles were leading and developing Anglo Coal's marketing efforts in Asia and to steel industry customers globally. He was also the Global Head of Strategy for Anglo Coal immediately prior to leaving Anglo in 2007.
Christelle Van Der Merwe - Non-executive Director
Christelle Van Der Merwe is a mining geologist responsible for the mining-related geology and resources of Assore’s subsidiary companies (comprising the pyrophyllite and chromite mines) and is also concerned with the company's iron and manganese mines. She has been the Assore group geologist since 2013 and is involved with the strategic and resource investment decisions of the company. Van Der Merwe is a member of SACNASP and the GSSA.
Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng - Non-executive Director
Edward Koranteng is a lawyer and an experienced corporate and investment banker with over 23 years of experience. He has served as the chief executive officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Ghana’s sovereign minerals wealth fund, since 2021.
Prior to joining MIIF, Koranteng held the role of Business Head for East, Central and Southern Africa for Ghana International Bank plc ("GHIB"), where he was responsible for GHIB's energy and mining portfolio. He also worked with the Chase Bank Group (Kenya), now SBM Bank of Mauritius, as group head for energy, oil, gas and mining. Koranteng currently sits on the boards of Asante Gold Corporation, MIIF and Glico General Insurance Ltd.
Koranteng holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Ghana, a Master of Laws in International Banking and Finance from the University of Leeds in the UK, a Postgraduate Diploma from BPP Law School in the UK and the Ghana School of Law. He has practiced as a barrister in both the UK and Ghana and holds various executive and postgraduate certifications, including in oil, gas and mining from the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford in the UK.
Jonathan Henry - Independent Non-executive Director
Jonathan Henry is an experienced Non-Executive Director, having held various leadership and board roles for nearly two decades. Henry has significant expertise working across capital markets, business development, project financing, key stakeholder engagement, and the reporting and implementation of ESG-focused initiatives. Henry has a wealth of experience projects towards production and commercialisation to deliver shareholder value.
Henry also serves as non-executive chair of Toronto Venture Exchange-listed (TSX-V) Giyani Metals Corporation, a battery development company advancing its portfolio of manganese oxide projects in Botswana, having previously held the role of executive chair. His previous roles include as executive chair and non-executive director at Ormonde Mining plc, non-executive director at Ashanti Gold Corporation, president, director and chief executive officer at Gabriel Resources Limited and various roles, including chief executive officer and managing director, at Avocet Mining PLC. He holds a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Dublin.
Michael Bourguignon – Head of Capital Projects
Michael Bourguignon is a distinguished project management professional with a rich history of leading significant initiatives in the mining and energy sectors. Most recently, he served as the COO at Evolution Energy Minerals in Tanzania, where he managed the optimisation and update of the Definitive Feasibility Study, managed the Front-End Engineering Design package, and oversaw the completion of the Relocation Action Plan and other community-related works.
Prior to this, Bourguignon worked with Rio Tinto in Australia as a consulting construction manager, as well as Glencore’s Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia, where he was the project director for the Mopani Synclinorium Concentrator, and Syrah’s Balama Graphite Mine in Mozambique, where he was project director. He has also previously worked in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire with Perseus Mining.
Bourguignon holds an MBA from Murdoch University and is a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management.
Andrew Henry – General Manager, Commercial and Finance
Andrew Henry is an accomplished General Manager with over a decade’s experience in the operational mining sector, specialising in strategy, planning and analysis, contracts, large-scale project development and site operations.
Before joining Atlantic Lithium, Henry held the role of commercial manager at global lithium chemicals company Allkem and, prior to that, he spent over four years with major gold mining company Newcrest Mining.
Henry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of South Australia and is a member of CPA Australia.
Ahmed-Salim Adam – General Manager, Operations
Ahmed-Salim Adam is an experienced mining general manager with over 15 years of experience leading various large-scale projects in Ghana across all stages of mine development, production, and closure, with a focus on safety and sustainability.
Adam has previously held a number of leadership roles, including as senior consultant of Metallurgy at GEOMAN Consult Ltd, as a director for FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd’s Refractory Project and as general manager at Golden Star Resources Ltd.
He holds a MPhil Minerals Engineering and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mineral Engineering, both from the University of Mines and Technology, Ghana. He is also a member of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) in the United Kingdom and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) in Australia.
Simone Horsfall - General Manager, People
Simone Horsfall joins Atlantic Lithium as General Manager, People with over 25 years of experience working across a broad range of industries, with a focus on the mining sector. Previously, Horsfall spent over a decade at AngloGold Ashanti Australia as human resources manager and, more recently, at 29Metals as group manager of human resources.
Horsfall holds a diploma in Human Resource Management, a university certificate in Psychology from Edith Cowan University, Sydney, and a post-graduate diploma in Human Resources from Deakin University.
Belinda Gethin – General Manager, Corporate Finance and Company Secretary
Belinda assumed the role of general manager, corporate - finance and company secretary in January 2024, having initially joined the company as financial reporting manager in June 2023. To her role at Atlantic Lithium, Gethin brings a wealth of experience in all aspects of statutory, financial and corporate reporting, including the preparation of financial statements and accounting for complex transactions. Before joining Atlantic Lithium, Gethin worked as the chief financial officer for Lumus Imaging and, prior to that, as the group reporting manager at Healius. Gethin is a chartered accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW in Sydney, Australia.
Iwan Williams – General Manager, Exploration
Iwan Williams is an exploration geologist with over 20 years' experience across a broad range of commodities, principally iron ore, manganese, gold, copper (porphyry and sed. hosted), PGE's, nickel and other base metals, as well as chromitite, phosphates, coal and diamond.
Williams has extensive southern and west African experience and has worked in Central and South America. His experience includes all aspects of exploration management, project generation, opportunity reviews, due diligence and mine geology. He has extensive studies experience having participated in the delivery of multiple project studies including resource, mine design criteria, baseline environmental and social studies and metallurgical test-work programmes. He is very familiar with working in Africa having spent 23 years of his 28-year geological career in Africa. Williams is a graduate of the University of Liverpool.
Abdul Razak – Exploration Manager, Ghana
Abdul Razak has extensive exploration, resource evaluation and project management experience throughout West Africa with a strong focus on data-rich environments. He has extensive gold experience having worked throughout Ghana with AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields Ghana, Perseus and Golden Star, as well as international exploration and resource evaluation experience in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Guinea.
Razak is an integral member of the team, managing all site activities including drilling, laboratory, local teams, geotech and hydro, community consultations and stakeholder engagements and was instrumental in establishment of the current development team and defining Ghana’s maiden lithium resource estimate.
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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