The insatiable thirst for battery minerals exploration continues early into 2019, with Mineral Commodities Limited (ASX:MRC) the latest miner looking to expand its strategy to include lithium and tantalum.
MRC has entered into a term sheet to acquire the Mt Edon pegmatite suite and the Wydgee Greenstone-belt pegmatites, located near Paynes Find in Western Australia’s Mid-West region.
The company has negotiated with a private party a right to earn a 90% interest in the tenement package in exchange for cash consideration of A$45,000.
According to the company, the tenements package shapes up as a compelling battery minerals project containing known lithium-tantalum rich pegmatites, including local historical tantalum production on a granted mining lease.
The Mt Edon pegmatite field contains historical grades of up to 2.2% Li2O5 and is close to existing infrastructure, including the Great Northern Highway.
Numerous pegmatites on the mining tenements have anomalous concentrations of tantalum, rubidium and cesium, which is closely associated with lithium rich mineralisation.
The Wydgee tenements contain known beryl bearing pegmatites that have been historically mined.
MRC has committed to developing an immediate exploration strategy to verify the occurrence of anomalous lithium within these targeted zones.
Commenting on the upgraded battery minerals strategy, executive chairman Mark Caruso said:
The Company continues to build a portfolio of advanced stage exploration and near-term production assets in the battery minerals sector that are focused in Tier 1 jurisdictions.”
Mineral Commodities also holds a graphite project, a lithium-copper-gold project as well as a vanadium project, all located in Western Australia.