Rio Tinto Exploration, a subsidiary of the mining giant, has exercised its option to farm-in to ASX-listed Twenty Seven Co’s North Rover project with plans to begin a 500-1000m drill program to test for lithium at the site.
The two companies entered into an earn-in option agreement in March that stated the Rio subsidiary can earn an 80 per cent interest in non-gold minerals at the tenement by spending $5 million on non-gold exploration at the site.
The deal was secured when Rio Tinto Exploration coughed up $25,000 to Twenty Seven Co up front for an exclusive six-month option to explore.
The Rio subsidiary has identified weathered pegmatites considered highly prospective for lithium and tantalum mineralisation.
The pegmatites were discovered following a review of historical data in addition to field mapping at the site. Stream sediment, soil and rock chip sampling followed the initial discovery to test for potential spodumene mineralisation.
Twenty Seven Co Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Caruso said: “We are encouraged that RTX has opted to exercise its option to farm-in and advance the North Rover project in WA. The positive early results of first stage exploration have indicators that warrant the drill testing to assess the sub outcropping pegmatite target in the northern area of the tenement for potential lithium mineralisation.”
Twenty Seven Co’s wholly owned Rover project is located near Sandstone in an area associated with Archean greenstone belts. The area takes in three exploration licences that make up a large 460 square kilometre package with a combined length of around 160km.
However, only the northern exploration licence is subject to Rio Tinto Exploration’s farm-in agreement.
Twenty Seven Co says historically the area is relatively underexplored and is currently undergoing a resurgence.
To earn the 80 per cent joint venture interest Rio Tinto Exploration must conduct a minimum of 500 metres of drilling in the first two years and spend at least $200,000 on exploration for every year the farm-in is active. Twenty Seven Co retain all rights to gold at North Rover.
In December last year Twenty Seven Co completed a 31 hole RC drill program that intersected a 4m envelope of massive sulphides at its Rover gold project.
Six of the 31 holes drilled were designed to extend the high priority Harmonic prospect at depth and along strike. The other 25 drill holes targeted the soil sampling anomalies identified in November at the Middle Well, Four Corners and Blue Hills prospects along strike from Harmonic.
Whilst the gold results at Rover have been promising, the backing of a globally recognised miner in Rio Tinto exploring the lithium prospectivity at the site could be just the thing to get a few pulses racing.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Matt Birney
