The upcoming ASX float of Lithium Australia’s Canadian partner, MetalsTech, on the ASX is looking really interesting for Lithium Australia after they signed a strategic partnership agreement this week with the high grade Lithium explorer.
Lithium Australia announced in August it would fast-track an ASX float for Canadian Lithium junior, LiGeneration, for which it had provided some seed capital.
This week the company announced LiGeneration had been acquired by MetalsTech which is developing a number of very high grade Lithium projects in Quebec, Canada. The company is run by an experienced team that includes successful Canadian resource explorers Russell Moran and Gino D’Anna
The acquisition has provided a bonus for Lithium Australia, which has already entered into a new strategic partnership with MetalsTech.
Under the new agreement, MetalsTech will have the exclusive right to use and apply Lithium Australia’s proprietary lithium extraction technologies for the processing of spodumene concentrate from its lithium projects within Quebec.
Lithium Australia will be issued with 1m shares in MetalsTech in recognition of its previous investment in LiGeneration and a further 1m shares for entering into the new partnership agreement.
In addition, Lithium Australia will be issued with up to a further 4m MetalsTech shares and 3m options subject to a number of milestones being met including bench scale testing, pilot plant testing, feasibility, offtake, plant construction and production performance.
MetalsTech will also pay Lithium Australia a 2% Gross Revenue Royalty on any products including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide that are produced by MetalsTech using Lithium Australia’s “Sileach” or “LieNA” extraction technologies.
The MetalsTech ASX listing remains on track, with Lithium Australia shareholders to be made a $1m priority offer to subscribe for shares in the new float.
Lithium Australia’s CEO, Adrian Griffin, said “For Lithium Australia shareholders, the new partnership with MetalsTech represents an outstanding opportunity to gain direct equity leverage to new pegmatite projects in an established hard-rock lithium jurisdiction located in the province of Quebec, Canada. For MetalsTech, it is an opportunity to broaden the base of lithium educated investors on their share register.”
The combined MetalsTech project portfolio includes a number of properties that should quicken the pulse of prospective investors.
MetalsTech have flown under the radar up until now but with some samples at their projects showing amazing direct shipping type Lithium grades of up to 7%, the company is sure to attract the interest of the Lithium bulls when it floats.
MetalsTech’s portfolio includes The Wells-Lacourciere Lithium Project, which is close to the Quebec Lithium Mine that contains a Measured and Indicated resource of 33.24 Mt at 1.19% Li2O and an Inferred resource of 13.76 Mt at 1.21% Li2O.
The Wells-Lacourciere project recently returned an amazing 7.0% Lithium sample from surface including a 200m2 bulk sample of 2.87% to 4.0% Lithium.
The company’s Cancet Lithium Project recently reported 1.71%, 1.85%, 1.94% and 3.79% Lithium from surface assays and the Terre des Montagnes Project is contiguous with and along strike to Nemaska Lithium’s Whabouchi project, which is on track to become a major world producer in 2018. The measured, indicated and inferred resource there was recently upgraded to 37.6Mt @ 1.56% Li2O.
MetalsTech’s Adina Lithium Project also recently reported very high grades of up to 3.12% Lithium.
All projects boast excellent infrastructure and access to some of the lowest cost and cleanest power globally from Quebec hydro power.
By Matt Birney
