TIDMIRR
RNS Number : 6537J
IronRidge Resources Limited
13 September 2016
13 September 2016
Right to Acquire Highly Prospective Lithium License in
Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa
IronRidge Resources Limited (AIM: IRR, 'IronRidge' or the
'Company') is pleased to announce the right to acquire a highly
prospective primary 'hard-rock' lithium exploration license in Côte
d'Ivoire, West Africa.
Project Highlights:
-- Highly prospective license secured through joint venture,
covering 400km(2) in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa.
-- Multiple untested pegmatite occurrences identified throughout the license.
-- Reconnaissance field visit identified multiple outcropping
pegmatites over 15m to 20m in width and several hundred meters
strike with outcrops up to 25km apart along the interpreted
trend.
-- Pegmatite hosted mineralisation with potential lithium rich
spodumene mineralogy; simple process flow sheet envisioned.
-- IronRidge can earn and acquire up to 100% of the project
through staged earn-in arrangements and expenditure to Feasibility
Study within a 4-year period, subject to a residual Net Smelter
Royalty.
-- Project well located within 75km of the capital Abidjan;
excellent infrastructure, logistics and services support for
potential rapid development.
-- Global demand for Lithium is increasing at an unprecedented rate.
Reference to figures and tables relate to the version of this
release on the Company's website (www.ironridgeresources.com.au) or
visible in PDF format by clicking the link below:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6537J_-2016-9-13.pdf
Commenting on the Company's latest progress, Vincent Mascolo,
Chief Executive Officer of IronRidge, said:
"This acquisition further consolidates our West African lithium
portfolio and strategy.
We see enormous potential in supplying the growing energy
industry with lithium, and securing the Côte d'Ivoire resource
directly complements our recent acquisition activity in this space
in Ghana.
"The asset presents a strategic opportunity that consolidates
and covers resource scale potential, simple mineralogy and
proximity to infrastructure in a mining-friendly jurisdiction. We
believe this endorses the potential for success at the project as a
first quartile cost producer, with low capital expenditure
requirements and a simple mining and treatment process."
Project Area and Geology
The license area is located within Birimian metasediments and
volcaniclastics that are intruded by kilometre scale leucogranite
stocks and bosses. Lithium and Beryllium occurrences are present
within the license area.
Preliminary field inspections have discovered multiple
outcropping pegmatites of over 15m to 20m in width and several
hundred meters in strike with outcrops up to 25km apart along the
interpreted trend.
The smaller kilometre scale, more fractionated granitic
intrusive bodies occur within the metasediments and are spatially
associated with pegmatitic vein swarms. These intrusive bodies are
believed to be the more fractionated end-members, and accordingly
represent the more prospective zones for Lithium rich
pegmatites.
The outcropping pegmatites are characterised by coarse
crystalline spodumene (a lithium rich pyroxene mineral and the
preferred feedstock of hard-rock lithium production projects) from
which lithium may be leached to precipitate a lithium carbonate
product.
The project area is well located, being easily accessible within
a 1.5 hour drive from the capital city Abidjan along a bitumen
highway.
Key Financial Terms
The Company has entered into an Agreement with Enchi Pro CI SA
("EP") of Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, under which IronRidge can
acquire up to 100% of the projects through staged earn-in
arrangements and expenditure to Feasibility Study within a 4-year
period. Enchi Pro CI SA will retain a Net Smelter Return Royalty
("NSR") of 2% capped at US$2m with IRR having the right to acquire
the royalty at any time for US$1.5m. Funding will be used to
undertake further exploration work and, pending results, define a
maiden resource and complete project studies.
Completion of the Investment is subject to certain conditions
being met by the Company and Enchi Pro CI SA, principally in
relation to completion of satisfactory Due Diligence by IronRidge
over the next three months.
IronRidge shall be responsible for maintaining the Properties
during this agreement and up to the completion of the Feasibility
Study.
Summary of key Earn-in and Joint Venture terms:
-- IronRidge to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), IronRidge (100%).
-- Satisfied completion of Due Diligence - US$60k to EP by IronRidge
-- Asset Transfer Fee - US$20k, EP earn 20% of the SPV by IronRidge
-- Commencement of a Scoping Study Fee - US$60k, IronRidge earn to 85% total of the SPV.
-- Commencement of Prefeasibility Study - US$150k, IronRidge earn to 90% total of the SPV.
-- Commencement of Feasibility study - US$225k, IronRidge earn
to 95% total of the SPV at this point EP can either co-contribute
or dilute down to a NSR of 2% at which time IronRidge will have
earned 100% of the SPV.
Lithium Outlook
Global demand for lithium is increasing at an unprecedented rate
since the emergence of consumer electronics, the electric vehicle
and energy storage markets, driven by a desire to reduce carbon
emissions and improve efficiencies.
In its purified form, lithium (Li) possesses some unique
physical and electrical characteristics. It is the lightest of all
metals, has a high electrochemical potential with an exceptionally
small ionic radius and therefore exceptionally high charge to
radius ratio. These unique characteristics make it ideal for use in
lightweight, rechargeable batteries which are currently
experiencing rampant growth in global demand.
Lithium and its compounds have several industrial, medicinal and
biological applications, including heat-resistant glass and
ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel
and aluminum production, lithium and lithium-ion batteries, mental
health treatment and bacteriostatic properties. These uses consume
more than three quarters of lithium production.
Commentary from industry experts suggests lithium consumption
will increase significantly over the coming years, especially due
to increasing global battery demand.
The Board is delighted with the progress that the Company has
made in 2016 and looks forward to keeping shareholders updated as
further news becomes available.
For any further information please contact:
IronRidge Resources Limited
Vincent Mascolo (Chief Tel: +61 7 3303
Executive Officer) 0610
Nicholas Mather (Executive Tel: +61 7 3303
Chairman) 0610
SP Angel Corporate Finance
LLP Tel: +44 (0)20
3470 0470
Nominated Adviser and
Broker
Jeff Keating
Yellow Jersey PR Limited
Aidan Stanley Tel: +44 (0) 7584
Dominic Barretto 085 670
Notes to Editors
IronRidge Resources is an AIM listed mineral exploration company
with frontier assets in both Australia and Africa, with two
province scale projects in Gabon, Gold Projects in Chad, Central
Africa, advanced lithium assets in Ghana and promising and advanced
gold titanium and bauxite projects in Queensland Australia.
IronRidge's corporate strategy is to create and sustain shareholder
value through the discovery of world-class and globally demanded
commodities.
Australia
Monogorilby is prospective for province scale titania and
bauxite, with an initial maiden resource of 54.9MT of bauxite.
Monogorilby located in central Queensland, within a short trucking
distance of the rail system leading north to the Port of Bundaberg.
It is also located within close proximity of the active Queensland
Rail network heading south towards the Port of Brisbane.
May Queen is located in Central Queensland, within its wholly
owned Monogorilby license package and is highly prospective for
gold with drill ready targets defined. Historic drilling completed
during the 1980s intersected multiple high-grade gold intervals
including 2m @ 73.4 g/t Au (including 1m at 145g/t), 4m @ 38.8g/t
Au (at end of hole) and 3m @ 18.9g/t Au, over an approximate 100m
strike hosting numerous parallel vein systems, open to the
north-west and south-east.
Wholly owned Quaggy contains highly anomalous platinum,
palladium, nickel, cobalt and copper exploration targets and is
located in Central Queensland within a short trucking distance of
the dormant rail system to the Port of Bundaberg. It is also
located within close proximity of the active Queensland Rail
network heading south towards the Port of Brisbane.
Gabon
Tchibanga is located in south-western Gabon, in the Nyanga
Province, within 10-60km of the Atlantic coastline. This project
comprises two exploration licenses, Tchibanga and Tchibanga Nord,
which cover a combined area of 3,396km(2) and include over 90km of
prospective lithologies and the historic Mont Pele iron
occurrence.
Belinga Sud is Located in the north east of Gabon in the
Ogooue-Ivindo Province, approximately 400km east of the capital
city of Libreville. IRR's licence lies between the main Belinga
Iron Ore Deposit, believed to be one of the world's largest
untapped reserves of iron ore with an estimated 1bt of iron ore at
a grade >60% Fe, and the route of the Trans Gabonese railway,
which currently carries manganese ore and timber from Franceville
to the Port of Owendo in Libreville.
Chad
The Company entered into a conditional agreement with Tekton
Minerals Pte Ltd of Singapore concerning its portfolio covering
1,400km(2) of highly prospective gold and other mineral projects in
Chad, Central Africa. Under the terms of the agreement, IronRidge
will acquire an initial 58% of Tekton, including its projects and
team, to advance the Dorothe, Echbara and Am Ouchar licenses;
hosting multiple, potentially nation building gold projects.
Initial trenching results at Dorothe, including 14.12g/t Au over
4m, 34.1g/t over 2m and 63.2g/t over 1m, have defined significant
gold mineralised quartz veining over a confirmed 1km strike at an
average of 2m and up to 5m true width across multiple stacked vein
zones up to 200m wide with new hard-rock artisanal workings
potentially extending strike to >3km.
Ghana
The Company entered into a joint venture arrangement with Obotan
Minerals Limited and Merlink Resources Limited of Ghana, West
Africa, securing the first access rights to acquire the historical
Egyasimanku Hill spodumene rich lithium resource estimate to be in
the order of 1.48Mt at 1.67% Li(2) O. The portfolio covers some
238km(2) with a further identified 10km pegmatite swarmed veins,
tenure package is also highly prospective for tin, tantalum,
niobium and gold which occur as accessory minerals within the
pegmatites and host formations.
Corporate
IronRidge made its AIM debut in February 2015, successfully
securing strategic alliances with three international companies;
Assore Limited of South Africa, Sumitomo Corporation of Japan and
DGR Global Limited of Australia. Assore is a high- grade iron,
chrome and manganese mining specialist. Sumitomo Corporation is a
global resources, mining marketing and trading conglomerate. DGR
Global is a project generation and exploration specialist.
The Board of Directors is represented by mining industry
professionals with a broad range of corporate, exploration,
production, contracting and capital markets experience. The Company
was admitted on 12 February 2015 (Ticker Code IRR) and currently
has 236,612,203 shares and 14,770,000 unlisted options on
issue.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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