Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX) has signed a farm-in and joint venture (JV) agreement with privately held Bellpark Minerals for two key tenements near the Ida Holmes Junction Project in Western Australia.
Located adjacent to Ida Holmes Junction, E36/1080 is a granted exploration licence on the prospective Holmes Dyke and Ida Fault regions, but has seen no modern exploration.
E29/1167, which hosts the Mt Alexander Lithium Project, is a granted exploration licence with identified pegmatite swarms to the south along the Ida Fault.
Under the agreement, Western Yilgarn has the right to earn a 95% interest in the tenements over a two-year period by funding $120,000 of exploration work.
Bellpark will then receive 1 million ordinary shares in Western Yilgarn, escrowed for a period of 12 months. Western Yilgarn may withdraw from the farm-in on 30 days’ written notice, provided that it has met minimum expenditure requirements on the tenements to the date of withdrawal.
Once the farm-in stage has been completed, the companies will form an unincorporated JV. Western Yilgarn will act as the manager of the project, and both parties will contribute their pro-rata share of expenditure.
Should a party’s ownership fall below 5%, the company will be required to withdraw from the JV and convert its ownership to a 1.5% net smelter return royalty.
Western Yilgarn Chairman Peter Lewis says the farm-in augments the Ida Holmes Junction Project with a prospective and contiguous extension along the Holmes Dyke.
“Viewing the supplied diagrams frames the Bellpark lease E36/1080 is a strong strategic fit in the company’s Ida Holmes Junction Project, both in terms of its geological positioning and its shared border with our existing leases,” he says.
“The highly prospective Mt Alexander Lithium Project provides further strategic positioning in a well-regarded location.”
The Ida Holmes Junction Project comprises six granted contiguous exploration licences which cover a combined area of 477km2, and an option to farm-in for an additional 207km2. The project lies near two tier-one nickel projects operated by BHP (ASX:BHP).
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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