JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified minerals explorer and developer Ardiden has signed a conditional binding term sheet with Chinese mining equipment manufacturer Yantai Jinyuan Mining Machinery to fund, design and build a lithium processing facility at its majority-owned Seymour Lake deposit, in Ontario.
ASX-listed Ardiden said on Wednesday that the strategic relationship was an important milestone for the company, which created an opportunity to significantly rerisk and potentially rapidly develop Seymour Lake, establishing a near-term pathway to become a niche, high-grade lithium producer.
Should Ardiden be able to meet the conditions of the term sheet and define a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant mineral resource in the near future, the miner will aim to establish a scalable production facility at Seymour Lake with Yantai’s assistance.
Under this proposal, Ardiden initially intends to produce a refined amount of lithium concentrate from Seymour Lake to meet the output requirements of the future offtake agreement currently being sought through Yantai.