Venari Minerals (ASX:VMS) is seeking US Department of War (DoW) funding for its 100%-owned Red Mountain Lithium and Strategic Metals Project in Nevada, US, after joining the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC).
Membership provides access to DoW grant opportunities and a network of defence contractors to support domestic strategic mineral supply chains. It also enables faster collaboration between government, industry, academia, and non-traditional suppliers.
The entry supports Venari’s Red Mountain asset, which holds an inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 500 million tonnes (Mt) at 0.61% lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), 0.53% strontium carbonate (SrCO₃) equivalent, and 2.40% magnesium (Mg).
This equates to 3.03Mt of contained LCE, 2.67Mt of contained SrCO₃ equivalent, and 12Mt of Mg.
The project hosts the only MRE in the US to include strontium, a strategic material used in tracer munitions and military flares, for which the country relies entirely on imports.
Executive Chairman Tony Leibowitz says acceptance into the DIBC is a significant step forward for Venari.
“[Acceptance highlights] Red Mountain’s strategic importance and its potential to become a domestic source of critical and strategic minerals for the US,” Leibowitz says.
“With the US entirely reliant on imported strontium for critical defence applications, Red Mountain represents a compelling opportunity to help address this supply vulnerability.”
The company is currently advancing metallurgical test work and a Scoping Study at Red Mountain.
Venari Minerals is an exploration company focused on critical and precious metals.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Venari
