JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Perth-based Platypus Minerals has entered into a binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire the Royal lithium prospect, located 30 km north of Val d’Or, in Quebec.
Platypus is acquiring Royal in conjunction with Canada-listed St Georges Platinum and Base Metals on a 70:30 relative basis.
Under the terms of the MoU, Platypus and St Georges will pay the vendors a C$10 000 option fee to conduct a due-diligence investigation on the Royal claims. The two companies are also concurrently negotiating formal terms of a joint venture to develop the Royal prospect.
The prospect comprises five contiguous claims, covering about 286 ha and representing a virgin find within a known lithium district, albeit situated only 4 km from the Quebec lithium mine, which hosts a resource of 42-million tons at 1.10% lithium.
A preliminary site visit by an independent geologist commissioned by Platypus and St Georges confirmed the presence of a significant amount of lepidolite within the pegmatite outcrops.
Platypus MD Tom Dukovcic said on Tuesday that the Royal claims were an excellent opportunity for Platypus to develop another lithium property in Quebec. “We already have exposure in Quebec to spodumene at our Lemare project near Nemaska, which we’re gearing up to drill.
“This addition of a lepidolite-rich prospect is perfectly suited to our primary focus of deploying the L-Max technology to provide lithium to the market from an alternative source, namely, lithium-rich micas, which gives us a valuable point of difference in the lithium sector,” he added.