Maximus Resources (ASX:MXR) has received approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for a team-up at its Lefroy Lithium Project in Western Australia.
According to a joint venture proposal, the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR) will assume US$3 million ($4.5 million) in exploration costs to earn a 30% interest in the Lefroy Project in the state’s Eastern Goldfields region.
Maxiumus will hold the remaining 70%.
KOMIR is a South Korean Government-owned company established to ensure the national resource security of critical minerals through efforts such as developing overseas mining and processing capacity to supply the Korean market.
Maximus Managing Director Tim Wither says the company has made progress during the FIRB review process, using a US$200,000 non-refundable deposit to build Maximus’s geological understanding and identify some prospective targets at Kandui, Yilmia, and Landor through the first phase soil geochemistry mapping and an initial 3,000m reverse circulation drilling program.
“In November 2023, we successfully intersected several shallow high-grade spodumene-bearing pegmatites at our Kandui prospect, which will be the focus for the upcoming drill program, whilst drill testing the Yilmia and Landor prospects,” he says.
A separate non-binding memorandum of understanding has been executed with global battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution, providing an option to acquire KOMIR’s 30% interest and the right to negotiate the purchase of up to 70% of the Lefroy Project’s future lithium production.
Maximus plans to begin a phase two drilling program at Lefroy, which is supported by the $3 million investment by KOMIR.
The drilling program will focus on expanding previous intersections of spodumene-bearing pegmatites at Kandui and test additional regional targets at Yilmia and Landor.
Maximus anticipates the local drilling contractor to mobilise to the Kandui target in the coming days.
Further, the company expects to receive the combined assay results from the phase two and three soil sampling programs shortly.
Maximus Resources holds a diversified portfolio of gold, lithium, and nickel exploration projects in the Kambalda region of Western Australia, with more than 335,000 ounces of gold resources across its mining tenements.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Maximus Resources
