TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Mexico-focused lithium developer Bacanora Minerals on Thursday announced it would re-domicile from Canada to the UK.

The company said its Aim listing garnered more investor interest, as demonstrated by the addition of two significant institutions to its shareholder register in the last eight months and owing to the fact that senior management were increasingly based in the UK.

The company advised that the board believed the move would translate into significant cost and administrative savings for the company and its subsidiaries.

The TSX-V- and Aim-listed junior advised that the re-domicile would be facilitated by exchanging all existing common shares in Bacanora for ordinary shares in Bacanora Lithium, a new UK-based holding company through a plan of arrangement.

The share capital of Bacanora UK would be identical to the existing share capital of Bacanora and the rights attaching to the new shares in Bacanora UK will be substantially the same as for the current Bacanora shares, the company advised, noting that all other aspects of the group would remain unchanged as a result of the transaction.

The transaction would be subject to shareholder and Canadian court approval.

SONORA PROGRESS
Meanwhile, Bacanora on Wednesday reported that it was making substantial progress on its flagship Sonora lithium project as it worked on completing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) by the first quarter of 2017.

Bacanora reported that its 3 000 m in-fill drilling programme was progressing well, with more than 2 000 m drilled to date, with a target of upgrading a portion of the current resource from the indicated to the higher-confidence measured category.

It said the latest drill intercepts were consistent with the average thickness of the deposit and assay results were expected next month.

The company said the pilot plant expansion was progressing in parallel with metallurgical testing. It expected to deliver battery-grade lithium carbonate samples to offtakers in Asia and Europe during the third quarter. Negotiations regarding offtake agreements with these potential partners were ongoing and would continue in tandem with the preparation of the bankable feasibility study, the developer said.

During the next 12 months, the company planned to employ engineers and operators to keep the plant in continuous operation and to gain process expertise.

It had appointed Ausenco Engineers to undertake the process engineering for the DFS. SRK Consulting would carry out the mineral resource estimate, and International Mining Consultants would provide the reserve estimate and mine planning.

Bacanora owned a 70% stake in the Sonora project, with fellow Aim-listed Rare Earth Minerals holding the remaining 30%.

Lithium had risen in popularity for its small but critical role in rechargeable batteries, used in electric cars and consumer devices such as mobile phones. Prices had jumped in the past year and demand was forecast to soar and overtake supply in about five years.