Kula Gold (ASX:KGD) reports it is seeking to acquire a 70% interest in lithium and related minerals in a key tenement E70/5452 (Kirup Project) located within 25km of the world’s largest hard rock lithium mine, Greenbushes.
The Kirup Project is located 200km south of Perth. With an area of 117km-square, the project was originally acquired by Merchant Ventures, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Sentinel Exploration, due to the proximity to the Greenbushes Lithium Mine and the numerous geological mapping and mineral occurrences and geophysical structures.
The purchase price includes a cash reimbursement of exploration expenditure of $200,000, 12 million fully paid ordinary shares, and $2 million in fully paid ordinary shares upon announcing a JORC maiden resource on the Kirup Project of a minimum of 10 million tonnes of ore at a grade of 1% lithium or greater.
The acquisition is conditional upon Kula completing due diligence, obtaining all relevant approvals, and Sentinel acquiring all of the issued share capital of Merchant Ventures by no later than 31 March 2023.
Addressing the acquisition, Kula Chief Executive Officer Ric Dawson said: “What an amazing time to join the company and work on such a suite of projects as the Brunswick and Kirup projects in near jurisdiction to the substantial Greenbushes Mine.
“What an amazing time to join the company and work on such a suite of projects”
We are delighted to acquire a significant majority stake in a highly prospective lithium project in a world-renowned lithium district and increase our existing lithium exploration ground at Greenbushes in Western Australia.
We have secured an outstanding exploration opportunity near our existing Brunswick Project to add to our existing portfolio of assets in Western Australia. We will proceed to exploring these tenements in a methodological step-by-step manner.
We are pleased to joint venture with Sentinel Exploration and look forward to updating the market with our developments in due course.”
The Kirup Project area commences about 25km West of the Greenbushes open pit mining operation.
Greenbushes is currently the largest hard-rock lithium mine in the world, operating since May 2014 by Talison Lithium, an incorporated joint venture between Tianqi Lithium Corporation (51%) and Albemarie Corporation (49%).
Greenbushes produces a concentrate of the lithium mineral, spodumene, to feed both China and Western Australia based mineral conversion plants or consumers of spodumene concentrates in Europe, North America, and China.
Australian mining company IGO (ASX:IGO) recently signed a deal to acquire a 24.99% stake in Greenbushes from Tianqi Lithium Corporation.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Kula Gold Ltd iStock
