Oceana Lithium

Overview

A lot can change in two years — just look at Brazil.

Best described as a bit player in the lithium space only two years ago, the country has since become one of the premier destinations for lithium exploration and development. It all started with the runaway success of Sigma Lithium (NASDAQ:SGML, TSXV:SGML). Since then, multiple high-profile mining companies have established themselves in the country.

This growth is unlikely to stop anytime soon, particularly in light of recent investments into Brazil's battery manufacturing sector by companies including BorgWarner and Inventus Power. Within the next several years, Brazil could become a major global supplier. That's good news for the lithium market, as we are rapidly approaching the point at which demand will greatly outstrip supply.

Oceana's acquisitions were no accident. The company's well-informed exploration strategy stems from veteran geologists and mining professionals with decades of experience between them. It's already identified multiple drill targets in Solonópole, all of which are highly prospective and known to contain lithium.

Company Highlights

• Oceana Lithium is an exploration company with two strategic and highly prospective projects in Solonópole, Ceará State, Brazil (Solonópole Lithium Project) and Northern Territory, Australia (Napperby Project) — all tier-one mining jurisdictions.
• Brazil in particular is an emerging international destination for lithium, with multiple promising discoveries in recent years.
• Recent investments in battery manufacturing within the country also present a huge opportunity for lithium exploration.
• Napperby is a large-scale exploration project situated in Australia's Northern Territory, and has the potential to host uranium, lithium and several other rare and valuable resources, including rare earth elements and tantalum.
• The company is well-funded to advance exploration on all its projects, with $3.35 million in cash on 31 December 2023.
• Investors can expect strong newsflow over the coming months from both projects.

Key Assets

Solonópole Lithium Project, Ceará State, Brazil

Located three to four hours by sealed road from the major port of Pecém and the capital city Fortaleza, Oceana's Solonópole project consists of 10 permits covering 124 square kilometers of highly prospective ground. Detailed field mapping by Oceana's Brazilian subsidiary Ceara Litio has identified a significant mineralized pegmatite corridor within the company's claim. The permits also cover several historic artisanal mining sites previously tapped for lithium, tantalum, niobium and tin.

Highlights:

• A Historic Artisanal Hotbed: Oceana has identified more than 50 small-scale artisanal mines during field exploration. Mining at these sites only reached depths of a maximum of 10 meters due to the need to blast hard rock material.
• Mineralisation: Oceana has a body of data that suggests high-grade mineralization at Solonópole, including:
  • Regional geological review of the Solonópole Pegmatites was completed in 2012 by Brazilian Geological Survey (CPRM). Analytical results (XRD) confirmed spodumene, lepidolite and amblygonite being the main lithium bearing minerals .
  • A regional reconnaissance program completed by a previous explorer which collected 246 grab samples in 2016 and 2017 containing:
    • Lithium oxide (Li2O): 9 percent.
    • Tantalum (Ta): 1 percent.
    • Niobium (Nb): 1 percent.
    • Tin (Sn): 1,000 ppm.
    • Beryllium (Be): 2.5 percent.
  • First-pass soil geochemistry results highlighting the presence of residual soil anomalies.
• An Ideal Location: Solonópole is situated in one of Brazil's two historic lithium mining regions, giving Oceana access to experienced labour and extensive pre-existing infrastructure. The project is also well-suited for exploration activities, as it is arid and sparsely populated farmland. It also has access to renewable energy (solar farms and hydro power).
• Experienced In-country Team: Oceana has invested heavily in developing an in-house exploration team headed by experienced resident geologist Mike Sousa and a strong corporate and legal management team based in Belo Horizonte headed by Cintia Maia and Carolina Carvalho who are both fluent in English.
• Exploration Work: Large-scale infill soil sampling program conducted since March 2023 collecting over 10,000 soil samples, and first pass 2,000-metre RC drilling program across priority targets was completed in August 2023. Phase 1 RC drilling campaign identified new lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite targets for deeper drilling in un-weathered zones. New data from geophysics and soil geochemistry anomalies indicate several swarms of pegmatite bodies striking in a NE-SW direction, showing several lithium-bearing pegmatites at the Bom Jesus de Baixo (BJdB) Pit; BJdB Central; Tin Mine; Nira; Lapinha; Urubu; Zilcar II and Rolados targets.

Napperby Project, Northern Territory, Australia

A large-scale exploration project situated in Australia's Northern Territory, Napperby covers 1,160 square kilometers. The 100 percent owned project is also located within the Northern Arunta pegmatite province, expected to soon become a hotbed of mining and exploration. It displays similar geology to the Pine Creek pegmatite province, which hosts the Finniss lithium project owned by Core Lithium (ASX:CXO).

Highlights:

• A Prime Location: Napperby is accessible via both the Stuart Highway and Tanami Highway. It's also close to Central Australian Railway with access to the port city of Darwin. Rio Tinto Resources (ASX:RIO) also owns a large exploration application permit immediately to the south of Napperby’s EL32863. ELA32841 is under application.
• Confirmed Pegmatites: Historical exploration of the region identified multiple pegmatite dykes with both tin and tantalum mineral occurrence. Additionally, a 2005 analysis by the Northern Territory Geological Survey confirmed these as LCT pegmatites.
• Exploration Work: Oceana has completed a hyperspectral survey to acquire high-quality data over the project area. Soil geochemical program completed reveals several large linear lithium anomalies, some of which are on the strike extension of pegmatite outcrop.
• Uranium Potential: Napperby has the potential to host uranium, lithium and several other rare and valuable resources, including rare earth elements and tantalum.

Board and Management Team

Dr. Qingtao Zeng - Non-executive Chairman

Doctor Qingtao Zeng has been extensively involved in the lithium exploration and development sector and is well-connected with potential off-take partners having acted as intermediary for the supply or purchase of spodumene concentrate for a number of producers. He has been engaged as a consulting geologist in a range of geological and commercial environments. Zeng completed a PhD in geology at the Centre of Exploration Targeting (CET) of University of Western Australia in 2013. He has published several academic papers on structure control orogenic gold systems in different geological scales and is a member of Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (MAusIMM) and Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). He is currently managing director of Australasian Metals Ltd, and a non-executive Director of Kodal Minerals, MetalsTech and Winsome Resources Ltd.

Aidan Platel - Non-executive Director

Aidan Platel is an experienced geologist and mining executive with over 25 years’ experience in the minerals industry. He has a broad skill set covering exploration, study execution, project development, mining, mineral processing and corporate financing within the minerals and mining service sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Honours in Geology) from UWA and has a Master of Business Administration from the Curtin Graduate School of Business.

Platel has held numerous executive and non-executive director roles in ASX listed exploration companies over his career. He has a proven track record of exploration success, having helped discover and develop several major deposits including the world-class Santa Rita Nickel deposit (>1Mt contained Ni metal) in Brazil. Platel is currently managing director and chief executive officer of Charger Metals NL and non-executive director of Olympio Metals.

Dan Smith - Non-executive Director and Company Secretary

Dan Smith has more than 15 years’ experience in financial markets, including 10 years’ experience with ASX Listing Rules compliance and corporate governance. Smith is a fellow member of the Governance Institute of Australia and holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Curtin University. He acts as company secretary for numerous ASX, AIM and NSX-listed companies.

Caue (Paul) Araujo - Chief Executive Officer

Caue Araujo is a qualified Australian-Brazilian geologist with over 20 years of experience as a mining industry professional. Following his early training with Vale in Brazil, his subsequent roles have included general manager of SRK Consulting Brazil, regional director of investment and business planning at Hatch (Australia and Asia), and global general manager – mine finance with mining industry advisory group Palaris Australia. He has a strong aptitude for the technical and economic evaluation of mineral resource projects, having been involved in the development of numerous projects during his career working with finance providers and equity investors including emerging lithium miners and mine gate concentrate producers. Araujo is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (MAusIMM) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has an MBA (project management, business and finance) from Ibmec University, Brazil. Through his diverse experience, he has refined his abilities to lead and manage multi-disciplinary teams. He is well-acquainted with key chemical companies, battery producers and EV manufacturers in the supply chain and their requirements to secure environmentally responsible long-term sources of lithium supply.

Mike Sousa - Exploration Manager and Competent Person, Brazil

Mike Sousa is a passionate and results driven geoscientist with over seventeen years exploration and project development experience, in his native Brazil and internationally, in battery minerals, gold, phosphates, niobium and rare earth elements. His experience includes planning and execution of exploration programs from early to advanced stage and mine expansion projects. Sousa has worked in senior roles in various states in Brazil for junior, mid-tier and major national and international companies including Equinox Gold, Lithium Ionic, OZ Minerals, Anglo American, Vale and Glencore. He brings to Oceana profound local knowledge and established relationships with professional service providers as well as local stakeholders. Sousa is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy – MAusIMM (CP).

Cintia Maia - Company Administrator, Brazil

Cintia Maia is manager, corporate and director of the company’s Brazilian operating subsidiary, Ceará Litio Mineração Ltda. She is an experienced corporate manager and administrator and a qualified accountant with over 20 years’ experience.

Maia is familiar with reporting requirements for Australian public companies, having previously worked as CFO for GRD Minproc, AMEC Canada and a number of other mining and industrial companies. She brings a wealth of practical experience to her role as the Company’s senior corporate officer in Brazil.

Carolina Carvalho - Manager Corporate Affairs, Brazil

Carolina Carvalho is an experienced corporate lawyer, having spent more than 15 years working with medium and large multinationals operating in Brazil. She has worked in mergers and acquisitions, tax planning and strategic business development across a number of industries including mining.