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Winsome Further Expands Lithium Exploration Footprint in Quebec
Highlights:
- Exclusive option agreement executed for Winsome to acquire and explore a further 259 claims, totalling 149 km2 in the highly sought after greater Decelles region of Quebec, Canada
- Option agreement expands Winsome’s lithium exploration footprint in Quebec, enlarging Company’s recently acquired Decelles claim area by nearly 40%
- This expanded area, known as Mazérac, is located around the Decelles Reservoir, about 50km southwest of Val-d’Or and easily accessible by a network of forestry roads
- The region has seen much recent staking and prospecting activity, including highgrade spodumene discoveries by Vision Lithium at their nearby Cadillac property1
- Enlarged property holding is highly complementary to Company’s 100% owned, existing projects in the James Bay region – Cancet, Adina and Sirmac-Clapier
The Company has entered into an exclusive option agreement to acquire 258 claims from Mr Glenn Griesbach and one claim from Mr de Keyser, totalling 149km2 in the prospective Mazérac region of Quebec, Canada. This is within the greater Decelles area, where the Company also acquired new property in January 20222 .
Mazérac is located close to the mining centres of Val-d’Or and Rouyn-Noranda, approximately 600km from Montreal. The Company has signed an exclusive option agreement to explore and subsequently acquire the claims over a 24-month period.
Mr Griesbach is a Canadian-certified geologist with more than 40 years of mineral exploration experience across Canada, Africa, China, and Southeast Asia. Mr de Keyser is a seasoned local prospector of First Nation heritage, with a strong understanding of the Mazérac region.
By entering into this agreement, the Company further expands its land holding in Quebec, exploring a new area of the province known for granitic and pegmatitic outcrops. The area is located close to infrastructure and the major mining centres immediately adjacent to recent lithium discoveries1 (see Figure 1 map)
Managing Director Chris Evans said:
“We are delighted to have entered into the option agreement for a further 259 claims at Mazérac in the Decelles region. There has been a considerable amount of recent lithium focused activity in the surrounding region, with several public and private companies making successful discoveries.
“By acquiring this project, we significantly increase the Company’s prospective lithium landholding in Quebec and continue towards achieving our vision of supplying high grade lithium products into the North American battery supply chain.”
Transaction details
Winsome has entered into an exclusive option agreement to acquire 259 claims from Mr Griesbach under the following broad terms:
- An upfront fee of AUD$75,000, paid in WR1 shares
- AUD $250,000 paid in three tranches of WR1 shares, based on the five-day VWAP from last week’s trading (AUS $0.47). This will equate to:
- 177,000 WR1 shares issued now
- 177,000 WR1 shares issued on 3 May 2023
- 177,000 WR1 shares issued on 3 May 2024
- A 2% Net Smelter Royalty (NSR) over the properties which can be reduced to 1% at any time for a consideration of AUD $1,000,000
Once the final payment of 175,000 WR1 shares is made on 3 May 2024, the 259 claims will transfer to Winsome’s Canadian subsidiary.
The Company also has the ability to accelerate the acquisition at any point within the next 24 months and have the claims transferred immediately by issuing all shares due to Mr Griesbach.
As a separate transaction, the Company paid Mr de Keyser CAD $20,000 to acquire outright the ‘Nippy Hill’ claim which is contiguous to the other Mazérac claims described above.
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This article includes content from Winsome Resources Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
HMW Project Achieves 1,000t LCE Contained Inventory as Lithium Chloride Production Journey on Track
HMW Project Update
- Pond 1 and 2 evaporation continues; approx 1,000t LCE contained inventory
- Pond 3 earthworks almost complete, liner installation at 60% and filling of pond 3 commenced; Pond 4 earthworks have commenced
- Overall project completion now at 33%, with pond construction 45% complete; project execution is advancing as planned
- Aligning with the physical progress of the project, capital expenditure also sits at 33% of the Phase 1 budget
- Key processing parameters; average brine flow rate, average Li grade from wells and evaporation rates in line with the Feasibility Study. The project remains on track to commence production in H1 2025
- Opportunities to reduce the Capex and Opex for HMW Phase 1 identified; engineering and procurement teams working to quantify these opportunities within the next two months
- Low all-in sustaining costs; HMW is expected to be in the 1st quartile of lithium industry’s cost curve with an initial reserve estimate of 40 years
- Phase 2 Operating cost to LiCl concentrate of $US3,510/t LCE equates to a low Li2O equivalent operating cost of SC6 (Spodumene Concentrate) $US310/t-$US350/t; solid production margins at current spot prices
- Following the recent agreement signed with the Catamarca government, offtake and funding discussions are advancing; Glencore due diligence process continues.
Overall completion of the HMW project now sits at 33% with the ponds system already at 45% completion. Approximately 600,000 m2 of evaporation area has now been built, currently housing 1,000t LCE contained inventory. This evaporation area is sufficient to produce a lithium chloride volume of approximately 2.4 ktpa LCE. The key processing parameters, including raw brine well average flow rates, Li grades and evaporation rates are all aligned with the Phase 1 DFS. Based on the rate of construction and the results achieved to date, the HMW project remains on track to start production in H1 2025.
In addition, Galan’s team are analysing options to reduce capital expenditure, these opportunities are focussed on selecting the minimum infrastructure required to commence production of Phase 1. Multiple trade-off exercises are being assessed such as the analysis of rental options for energy supply, reduction of the size for selected buildings, usage of independent smaller control systems, instead of a larger central control system for all facilities.
As previously announced, the HMW project was separated into four production phases. The initial Phase 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) focused on the production of 5.4ktpa LCE of a lithium chloride concentrate by H1 2025, as governed by the approved production permits. The Phase 2 DFS targets 21ktpa LCE of a lithium chloride concentrate in 2026, followed by Phase 3 production of 40ktpa LCE by 2028 and finally a Phase 4 production target of 60ktpa LCE by 2030. Phase 4 will include lithium brine sourced from both HMW and Galan’s other 100% owned project in Argentina, Candelas. The very positive Phase 2 DFS results were announced on 3 October 2023 (https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/GLN/02720109.pdf).
Ponds 1 and 2 completed with evaporation continuing
Pond 3 liner installation and Pond 4 earthworks
Galan’s Managing Director, Juan Pablo (JP) Vargas de la Vega, commented:
“We are very proud of the solid progress being made by the HMW Phase 1 construction team. With more than one third of the project completion now achieved, Galan is well on its way towards its targeted commencement of production in H1 2025. Galan would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the Government of the Catamarca Province in Argentina for their continued support, evidenced by the recent agreement signed to commercialise lithium chloride concentrate from HMW. We are excited about the opportunities this agreement now presents to Galan’s future”
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This article includes content from Galan 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.
Quarterly Activities Report to 31 March 2024
HIGHLIGHTS
- First phase of drilling completed at Abbotts North Project (Buttamiah Prospect), WA, with 11 RC holes drilled totaling 1,623m
- Assay results from Abbotts North confirm continuation of LCT system and delineate targets to north and east
- Montague field work commenced identifying abundant newly mapped pegmatites
- Field programs planned at Montague, Yalgoo and Abbotts North for June Quarter
- Demerger transaction completed 25 January 2024
- Transition underway to new leadership team at PLC to align with new strategy
Safety and Environment
Premier1 conducted field exploration activity with no reportable ESG related incidents in the quarter.
Abbotts North Project
Premier1 successfully completed the first phase drilling program at Abbotts North, located 35km north of Meekatharra, Western Australia. The program was completed on time and under budget. A total of 11 RC holes for 1,623m were drilled to test the main outcropping pegmatites at the Buttamiah Prospect.
Nine of 11 drill holes intercepted pegmatites of on average 1 to 3m and locally up to 4m thickness hosted within an amphibolite unit. Occasionally, lepidolite has been identified and further analyses are planned to determine the presence of spodumene in the system. Assays were released subsequent to the end of the quarter. The results show elevated lithium across the stacked pegmatites of up to 0.41% Li2O, confirming the continuation of the LCT system down depth and along strike.
Additional studies of the outcropping pegmatites in the larger Buttamiah Prospect area including fractionation vectoring using K/Rb ratios suggest the core of the system to be located to the east of the previous drilling. In addition, the data indicate that LCT pegmatites occur within the granites to the north of the drill area. Further mapping and sampling of pegmatites in these areas as well as over the remaining tenement package has commenced. Focus is to delineate drill targets of higher grades and thicknesses that have the potential to form a significant lithium deposit within the existing LCT system.
Figure 1: Cross-section of intercepted pegmatites showing significant results >0.05% Li2O.
Premier1 also completed a soil geochemistry program at the Abbotts North project for a total of 600 samples. Factor analysis (FA) was employed with the purpose of identifying multielement signatures within the soil assay samples which may be indicative of Li mineralisation. The work was successful in identifying spatial and geochemical associations between lithium mineralisation and mapped geology.
Montague Project
Premier1 commenced pegmatite mapping and rock chip sampling at the Montague lithium project. The Company has identified abundant new pegmatites along a mafic-ultramafic and siliclastic sequence of the greenstone belt up to 1km west of the main granite contact to the east. Potassium-Rubidium (K/Rb) ratios defined at least two areas of interest that showed high fractionation of below 40 that indicate prospectivity for Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatites.
The recently commenced first phase of field mapping and sampling has identified pegmatites in these two areas of interest. Occasionally, green mica has been identified and a first set of samples has been sent to the lab. Feldspar samples were taken of all newly mapped pegmatites to determine fractionation trends for further target vectoring and identification of potential drill targets for the second half of 2024.
The project covers the south-eastern portion of the Gum Creek Greenstone Belt which consists of early–mid Archean greenstone belts, intruded by late Archean granitoids and overlain by sporadic Proterozoic metasediments. Vast areas of Cainozoic sediments and transported regolith cover the region. Margins of the belt are typically dominated by contact-metamorphosed basalts and banded iron formations.
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This article includes content from Premier1 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.
