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Chariot Corporation
Overview
Chariot Corporation (ASX:CC9) is the largest land holder for lithium exploration in the US. It has a strategy to target both hard rock lithium in Wyoming and claystone lithium in Nevada and Oregon. The flagship Black Mountain Project, located in Wyoming, has shown significant mineralization with grades of up to 6.68 percent Li2O from rock chip samples. In addition to the Black Mountain Project, Chariot holds six other hard rock projects in Wyoming with 443 claims covering 3,585 hectares.
Chariot’s second flagship project, Resurgent, holds the second largest land position in the McDermitt Caldera, which hosts the two largest lithium resources discovered to date (Thacker Pass 19.1 million tons (Mt) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and McDermitt 21.5 Mt LCE). The recent $650-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.
The automaker's EV targets and government policies banning new internal combustion engine (ICE) car sales could propel lithium demand to 3.7 Mt by 2030, according to projections from mining giant Albemarle. This implies a CAGR of more than 20 percent between 2022 and 2030. 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.
In addition to exploration-led initiatives, Chariot has been actively focusing on creating value through the divestment of selected lithium assets. Four such assets have been divested so far through sale and/or option agreements with publicly listed companies. These transactions, assuming the existing options are exercised, may generate up to an estimated US$5.1 million in cash and stock-based consideration, in addition to future royalty payments for Chariot. The company currently has four additional projects that may be potential divestment opportunities, including Lida and Amargosa (Nevada), Mardabilla (Western Australia) and Nyamukono (Zimbabwe).
The company believes its two core projects, Black Mountain and Resurgent, represent early, prospective lithium opportunities in the United States. Chariot has received and completed the necessary approvals and preparations for drilling and has now commenced the phase 1 diamond drill program at the Black Mountain Project. This program was developed following highly encouraging assay results from the 22 rock chip samples collected to date at Black Mountain, which returned assay results of up to 6.68 percent lithium oxide. Eight holes were drilled and the first three holes intersected high-grade spodumene mineralisation which confirmed potential of the Black Mountain LCT pegmatite swarms. Assay results for the subsequent five holes are pending and expected to be announced by April 2024. Chariot plans to conduct a phase 2 drilling program beginning in Q2 2024.
Following the AU$9-million IPO, Chariot now has nearly AU$11.2 million available cash, which is sufficient to fund its exploration activities for the next 24 months. Of the AU$11.2 million, nearly 43 percent or AU$4.8 million will be spent on the Black Mountain Project.
Concurrently, the company plans to continue early exploration activities at the Copper Mountain Project, South Pass, Wyoming Regional and the Resurgent Project to define targets for future drilling.
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. Non-executive chairman Murray Bleach was formerly the CEO of Macquarie in North America, while the CEO, Shanthar Pathmanathan was an oil and has 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 later merged with Galaxy Resources) to form Allkem Ltd, one of the largest lithium producers in the world. 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 Limited is a mineral exploration company focused on discovering and developing high-grade and near-surface lithium opportunities in the U.S.
- Chariot holds the largest land position for lithium exploration in the U.S. 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 A$9 million initial public offering (which is in addition to A$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.
- The Black Mountain Project has had two-rounds of rock chip sampling which resulted in 22 rock chip samples collected with 10 of these samples returning assay results greater than 2.00% lithium oxide (Li2O) with the highest value being 6.68 percent Li2O. The Resurgent Project has had multiple rounds of rock-chip sampling with 289 samples being collected and returning values as high as 3,865 ppm lithium. The initial surface rock-chip sampling programs demonstrate the presence of lithium mineralization at surface.
- In addition to the core projects, Chariot 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.
- The company’s portfolio includes several additional projects prospective for hard rock (Western Australia and Zimbabwe) and claystone lithium (Nevada, USA).
- Chariot also holds interests in several projects that have been either sold or conditionally divested through option agreements to publicly listed companies. These include assets such as Halo, Horizon, Lithic & Mustang, and the Western Australia Lithium portfolio. Each of the divested projects are operated by a publicly listed counterparty 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 U.S. 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 project 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 and comprises . The claim area was acquired via claim staking of public land administered by the US Bureau of Land Management.
The project features large spodumene-bearing pegmatites outcropping at surface. Results from the rock chip sampling program returned a best result of 6.68 percent lithium oxide from a spodumene outcrop. In a recent exploration program, 22 rock chip samples returned assays with an average result of 2.16 percent lithium oxide.
The company is conducting a 3,000-metre phase 1 drilling program at Black Mountain, which commenced in November 2023. The site preparation, necessary approvals and the earthworks required to support the drilling program have been completed.
The phase 1 drill program is designed to test the portion of the Black Mountain pegmatite dyke swarm, a target area that is 1,000 metres long by 100 metres wide. More than 22 rock chip samples were taken from this area and the assay results were highly encouraging. Of the 22 rock chip samples, eight had assay results greater than 4 percent lithium oxide, with the highest value being 6.68 percent lithium oxide from a spodumene outcrop. Chariot announced that the first three holes from the drill program delivered strong initial hard rock lithium results with multiple mineralised lithium intersections.
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.
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
In addition to exploration-led initiatives, Chariot has been actively focused on creating value via divestment of selected lithium assets in its portfolio. In total, four such assets – Halo (Chariot’s ownership 21.4 percent), Horizon (Chariot’s ownership 21.4 percent), Lithic & Mustang (ownership 21.4 percent) and WA Lithium portfolio (Chariot was the 100 percent owner of this property prior to the sale to St George Mining Ltd) - have been divested so far through option agreements to publicly listed companies. These transactions, if the options are exercised, may generate up to an estimated US$5.1 million in gross proceeds (cash and stock-based consideration) for Chariot in addition to future royalty payments.
a) Halo asset: Sold to POWR Lithium for a total consideration of ~US$2.5 million and 1 percent NSR.
b) Horizon asset: Sold to Pan American Energy for a total consideration of US$15 million.
c) Lithic and Mustang assets: Sold to Red Mountain Mining for a total consideration of ~US$1.7 million and 2 percent NSR.
d) WA Lithium portfolio: Sold to St George Mining for a total consideration of ~US$1.1 million and 2 percent NSR.
Moreover, 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. Prior to Chariot, 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 Ltd. 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.
This article was written in collaboration with Couloir Capital.
Significant Lithium Discovery in Inaugural Drill Campaign at Red Mountain Project, USA
Astute Metals NL (ASX: ASE) (“ASE”, “Astute” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that assays results from the first three holes of the maiden RC drilling campaign at its 100%-owned Red Mountain Lithium Project in Nevada, USA have returned high-grade mineralisation, indicating the potential discovery of a significant lithium deposit.
The assay results included the following high-grade drill intersections:
- RMRC001 : 59.4m @ 1,300ppm Li / 0.69% Lithium Carbonate Equivalent1 (LCE) from 73.2m
- RMRC002 : 15.2m @ 810ppm Li / 0.43% LCE from 15.2m
- RMRC003 : 6.1m @ 1,050ppm Li / 0.56% LCE from surface, and
- 12.2m @ 1,060ppm Li / 0.56% LCE from 18.3m
A total of 11 holes were drilled for a combined 1,518m as part of the maiden RC drilling campaign, which targeted lithium clay mineralisation in zones of strong soil anomalism and/or rock chip anomalism with a view to understanding the thickness and grade potential of the project (Table 1 and Figure 1).
These initial results have confirmed the anticipated discovery of sub-surface lithium mineralisation at Red Mountain, which has clear potential to emerge as a significant project in the context of North American exploration efforts for battery metals.
Once assays for the remaining drill holes have been received by the Company, results will be collated and interpreted in order to guide the next steps for exploration at the project, which is now expected to include a follow-up drilling campaign in the second half of the calendar year. The remaining assays are expected to be received in two batches in early and late July.
Astute Chairman, Tony Leibowitz, said:
“This is a very exciting start to our drilling campaign at Red Mountain, with all three of our initial drill holes intersecting high-grade lithium mineralisation. The results have been returned over 4.6km of strike, indicating the potential for a major new discovery.
We are now eagerly awaiting the results from the remaining eight holes, which are expected to be received in July, with assays from all holes to be integrated into an updated geological model for Red Mountain with a view of expediting the process to achieving a maiden resource for our Red Mountain Project.”
Figure 1. Drill-hole locations and intersections, and gridded soil sample geochemistry over aerial image.
About Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE)
Unlike spodumene concentrate, which is a feedstock for a value-added battery product, Lithium Carbonate is a principal lithium-ion battery product, which may be used directly in battery production or converted to other battery products such as lithium hydroxide. The Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Lithium Carbonate China Index priced lithium carbonate product at US$13,710/t6 as of 12 June 2024.
Lithium carbonate is the product of many of the most advanced lithium clay projects around the world, including Lithium Americas’ (NYSE: LAC) 16.1Mt LCE Thacker Pass Project3 which is currently under construction. Accordingly, exploration results for Red Mountain have been reported as both the standard parts-per-million (ppm) and as % Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE). A full table of tabulated assay results is provided in Appendix 2.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Astute Metals NL, 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.
Deal Completion on Acquisition of Bengal Mining and Brazilian Lithium Projects
HIGHLIGHTS
- All Conditions Precedent have been met including receipt of shareholder approval at the Company’s EGM on 13 June 2024 including completion of tranche 2 capital raising
- Completion of acquisition of Bengal Mining and options over highly prospective lithium projects Caraíbas and Sidrônio, located in the prolific Lithium Valley region of Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Recent site visit confirms the highly prospective nature of the projects in Brazil’s prolific Lithium Valley in the state of Minas Gerais
The acquisition of Bengal Mining is now complete and is seen as transformative to the future of the Company as it positions itself in the prolific Lithium Valley district of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Currently, Managing Director, Alex Biggs is in Brazil visiting the projects and region as well as attending the Brazil Lithium Summit in Belo Horizonte. He will be meeting with key stakeholders, contractors and business leaders to ensure the Company is well positioned in Brazil moving forwards. Recent site visits have demonstrated the potential that the Caraíbas and Sidrônio projects present as reported in ASX Announcement 14 June 2024.
Lightning Minerals Managing Director Alex Biggs said, “Completion of the Bengal acquisition is a significant step forward for the Company and we can now begin to focus our efforts on target generation across our Brazilian assets. Having spent time in Brazil over the past couple of weeks we really like what we see and the potential these projects present to the Company. To be positioned where we are in the region is a significant achievement for us. Couple that with our relationships in Brazil, the prospectivity of the projects we are setting ourselves up for success. We welcome new shareholders on board as part of the transaction and capital raising and look forward to the future as we begin our exploration in one of the world’s premier lithium regions”.
Caraíbas and Sidrônio Projects
The Projects are located in the Eastern Brazilian Pegmatite Province that encompasses approximately 150,000 km2, stretching from Bahia state to Rio de Janeiro state. The Caraíbas Project consists of five (5) separate tenements covering 1,733 Ha and the project area contains a series of albite and muscovite rich pegmatites identified by Bengal’s initial reconnaissance works. Aeromagnetic data shows the tenements are located along regional structures and shear zones which are analogous to the trends present at Latin Resources’ (ASX: LRS) Colina deposit. The Caraíbas Project is located approximately 20km to the south in the same Salinas geological formation.
The Sidrônio Project consists of two (2) tenements covering 1,638 Ha, strategically located adjacent and along strike to the south from the Caraíbas Project. Aeromagnetic data shows the tenements are located along similar interpreted structural trends that may potentially be conduits for mineralisation. Both Projects cover prospective Salinas Formation geology which is thought to provide adequate rheological conditions suitable for the emplacement of late hydrothermal fluids. In similar geological settings, proximal to S-type granites, the Salinas Formation is known to host fertile lithium mineral bearing pegmatites.
Figure 2: Caraíbas and Sidrônio project location, geology and tenements
Figure 3: Caraíbas and Sidrônio projects location and tenements plotted against publicly available analytic signal aeromagnetic image from Servico Geologico do Brasil (Geological Service of Brazil)
Next Steps
Work programs will focus on ground reconnaissance, geophysical drone survey works, drill target identification and drilling. It is estimated that these works will occur over the next 6-months but are subject to change as the Company gains further knowledge on the projects.
Initial indicators and impressions gathered from this site visit will continue to inform the Company’s approach to exploration at both Caraíbas and Sidrônio over the coming months but the strategy already developed is considered appropriate with a view to developing drill targets over the next few months.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Lightning Minerals, 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.
Chariot Corporation Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects