Aim-quoted Savannah Resources has completed its technical and legal due diligence process with private company Aldeia & Irmão, and executed an agreement to purchase a mining lease application covering areas of land bordering the Mina do Barroso lithium project, in northern Portugal.
The Aldeia licence has the potential to expand the company’s current mineral resource base, providing an opportunity to extend the Mina do Barroso’s mine life of 11 years and it could potentially increase processing rates.
The total purchase price for the acquisition of the proposed licence area, once granted, is €3.25-million.
"Our technical due diligence has highlighted the lithium prospectivity of three blocks. The blocks are highly accretive to our Mina do Barroso project, bringing the potential for further lithium resources and extra area for mine infrastructure. This new ground further strengthens an already highly attractive mine development project, which we believe has the potential to be Western Europe's largest near term producer of spodumene lithium," said Savannah CEO David Archer.
The Mina do Barosso project currently has a resource of 21-million tonnes at 1.04% lithium oxide (Li2O) for 209 000 t of contained Li2O.
A feasibility study for the project is currently under way and Savannah aims to make a mine development decision next year.