Western Australia-baased junior explorer Midas Minerals has appointed experienced mining executive Mark Calderwood to the board in the of MD, as the company moves to expand its project portfolio, including exercising an option to acquire the Newington lithium/gold project.

Calderwood has served as the company’s exploration manager since Midas’ ASX listing last year. He is the former MD and CEO of West Africa-focused gold miner Perseus Mining.

Calderwood also has extensive experience in lithium and tantalum exploration, development and production, having overseen the discovery and development of the Bald Hill lithium mine, in Western Australia.

“Mark has been leading our exploration at the Weebo and Challa projects and will now draw on his lithium expertise as we commence exploration of the Newington project.

“He is a leading expert of pegmatites in WA and we are grateful to have his technical and leadership capabilities at the helm of Midas,” says chairperson Sara Kelly.

On Friday, Midas announced that it had exercised its option to acquire the Newington project, located on the northern extents of the Southern Cross Greenstone belt where the Mt Holland pegmatite deposit is being developed.

Midas acquired the project as part of an option agreement with fellow listed DiscovEx Resources, announced in April.

Midas states that initial field reviews have confirmed that prior reported anomalous lithium, caesium, tin and tantalum geochemistry is related to pegmatites and highly fractioned granitoids in the Kawana and Correll-Newfield areas. Midas has identified more than 200 pegmatite outcrops so far, over about 13 km strike.

During due diligence, results of 78 pegmatite and granitoid samples collected were analysed and 16 samples returned anomalous lithium. Four were subsequently analysed using a fusion analysis method to obtain complete element analysis, returning highly anomalous lithium, caesium, tin, tantalum and beryllium.

Calderwood said the project justified a comprehensive exploration programme to understand the distribution of the lithium-bearing pegmatites.