Javelin Minerals looks set to put significant new impetus behind its lithium exploration and production goals in Uganda after signing a strategic takeover bid implementation agreement with Gecko Minerals.
The company says Gecko directors have “unanimously” recommended shareholders back the move, which will net it two new projects in the African nation that are considered prospective for lithium.
Javelin has also revealed it has entered into pre-bid acceptance agreements with some Gecko shareholders, who hold some 17.9 per cent of that company’s total shares, and that they have agreed to accept the proposed takeover offer in the absence of a superior bid.
Gecko owns a 60 per cent interest in Gecko Minerals Uganda, which holds one exploration licence and three exploration licence applications in Uganda. Gecko Uganda has two projects – Ntungamo, which consists of one exploration licence and two exploration license applications covering a total of 60 square kilometres, and Mityana, which has one exploration licence application covering 240sq km.
The Mityana project surrounds a historical open-cut tantalite mine, which is not included in the acquisition, where recent samples of deeply-weathered pegmatite tailings and large amblygonite boulders in waste piles returned assays of up to 8.13 per cent lithium oxide.
The Ntungamo project surrounds a historical open-cut beryllium and tantalite mine that also remains unexplored for lithium, where recent samples taken from large amblygonite boulders in waste piles returned assays of up to 7.68 per cent lithium oxide.
Javelin Minerals executive director Matthew Blake said: “This is a major opportunity for Javelin as a lithium explorer and potential future lithium producer. The lithium potential of Uganda has been historically eclipsed by the abundant tin and coltan mining whilst these same granitic and pegmatitic host rocks may well contain large economic quantities of lithium minerals such as spodumene, lepidolite and amblygonite.”
Gecko Uganda has been advised that two of the three exploration licence applications have been provisionally granted and expects the third licence application to get the same approval within the next week.
The Ntungamo project sits 20km from the township of the same name and about 300km south-west of the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
While the Mityana project is less than two hours driving distance from the Ugandan capital of Kampala, Javelin says it has been largely unexplored. Gecko Uganda is confident that pegmatite extensions continue into the Mityana licence from the old tantalite mine and will prepare a lithium-focussed exploration program for the tenement in a bid to prove that theory.
Javelin has also received firm commitments to $2 million through a share placement to investors in two tranches. The first tranche comprises of 1,418,122,916 shares at an issue price of $0.0004 per share to raise $567,249, within the company’s 15 per cent placement capacity. The second tranche comprises of 3,581,877,084 shares and 3,581,877,084 attaching options exercisable at $0.001 to raise $1,432,757.
With about $2 million pledged to the company and two exciting African projects on the books through a takeover deal that so far seems promising, Javelin looks set to start landing a few throws right at the pointy end.
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By Michael Philipps
