Summit Minerals (ASX:SUM) has acquired a new strategic tenement within the Equador Niobium and Tantalum Project in northeast Brazil.
The newly acquired tenement, covering 2km2, sits east and north of the project. The tenement has existing outcropping pegmatites, as well as several small-scale artisanal mines that are known to be associated with niobium and tantalum occurrences.
Under the binding heads of agreement with RTB Geologia and Mineracao, Summit agreed to pay $50,000 cash and issue 800,000 ordinary shares in the company to the vendors.
Half of the shares will be escrowed for six months from the completion date.
Summit Minerals, which has a market capitalisation of $22.76 million, says the transaction is expected to be completed on or before 31 December 2024.
Managing Director Gower He says the company continues adding strategic holdings to its niobium and tantalum project.
“This is another exceptional acquisition for the company to add areas of geological significance which have proven results,” He says.
“This project just continues to amaze us on its potential and areas of growth.”
As part of due diligence analysis, the company collected rock chips which indicated grades similar to the existing Equador Project results.
The results include 42.93% niobium pentoxide, 11.39% tantalum pentoxide, and 33,310 parts per million (ppm) partial rare earth oxides (PREO); and 21.21% niobium pentoxide, 79.49% tantalum pentoxide, and 199,150ppm PREO.
Summit Minerals intends to conduct a metallurgical test program, to test the ability to create an economical niobium and tantalum concentrate.
The company says the program will assist in driving the decisions around the next stage of development for the overall project, which includes the addition of the two newly acquired tenements.
Further, Summit Minerals is focusing its efforts on an expedited initial drilling program to confirm the quality and to determine the potential scale of the project, which has been funded through a recently completed capital raising.
The Equador North tenement, which directly adjoins the newly acquired tenement, consists of an existing granted mining lease with previous feldspar mining activities conducted on it. Feldspar is the primary host rock of the niobium and tantalum at the Equador Project.
Summit Minerals is a rare earths and niobium-focused explorer. The company is focused on discoveries in Brazil, Canada, and Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Summit Minerals
