Minerals explorer Si6 Metals will dive into some due diligence after entering into a joint venture and agreeing to acquire a 50 per cent interest in a portfolio of Brazilian lithium and rare earths projects.
Management says the deal with Foxfire Metals is subject to a 30-day due diligence period and covers five tenements and five applications across four different project areas in Brazil.
The land package stretches across 17,000 hectares in three different Brazilian States and is seen as prospective for lithium, rare earths, gold, base metals and platinum group elements.
Three granted tenements and four applications are in the State of Minas Gerais, including some in the prime real estate of Brazil’s “Lithium Valley” and in two applications in Caldera. One granted tenement and another under application sit in the State of Ceara, with the final granted project area sitting in the State of Amazonas.
One of the tenements in Minas Gerais sits within 20km of Sigma Lithium’s mega 85.6-million-tonne Grota do Cirilo lithium project. Management says the area holds Brazil’s biggest lithium reserves, with more than 100 known pegmatitic occurrences.
Two applications in Minas Gerais also neighbour Meteoric Resources NL’s ultra-high-grade ionic adsorption clay rare earths discovery. Meteoric has announced a maiden mineral resource estimate of 409 million tonnes going 2626 parts per million total rare earths oxide at a 1000ppm cut off.
Meanwhile, another granted tenement and a further application are about 20km north of Latin Resources’ rapidly-expanding Salinas lithium project. Latin is edging towards a resource upgrade after smashing through 135 diamond drill holes.
Si6 Metals executive director Jim Malone: “This is an excellent opportunity for Si6 to participate in one of the most prospective exploration areas in the world. The Lithium Valley in Brazil offers significant opportunities in Lithium and in REE’s and is home to some very successful companies listed both on the ASX and the TSX that have been exciting the markets with their discoveries.”
Should Si6 decide to proceed with the acquisition, the deal will then be subject to an independent expert’s report and shareholder approval.
The explorer already has two projects in its stable. The company’s Maibele project in Botswana is a nickel sulphide deposit related to ultramafic intrusions within mobile belt rocks and is broadly similar in style to other ultramafic intrusion-related mobile belt projects. The Maibele project hosts a resource of 2.4 million tonnes going 0.72 per cent nickel and 0.21 per cent copper, platinum group metals, cobalt and gold.
Closer to home, Si6’s wholly-owned Monument project, near Laverton in Western Australia, contains 3.3 million tonnes grading 1.4 grams per tonne gold for a 154,000-ounce resource along banded-iron formations.
With a third project in a third country appearing on the company’s radar, the southern hemisphere is suddenly looking well covered by Si6 as it searches for the next big thing.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Steve Kaless
