PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Blackham Resources and fellow-listed Salt Lake Potash have executed a binding split commodity and access agreement on the Lake Way project, in Western Australia.
Salt Lake holds some 290 km2 of tenure in the Lake Way region, while Blackham owns the Matilda-Wiluna gold project, at the northern-end of the Lake, surrounding the Williamson pit.
Under the terms of the agreement, Salt Lake will acquire Blackham’s brine rights over its own tenements, while Blackham will acquire the gold rights to the Salt Lake tenements.
Salt Lake will receive a 2% royalty on all gold produced at its tenement areas, while Blackham will receive a 4% royalty on all brine, including sulphate of potash (SoP), produced at its tenements.
Salt Lake will also be liable for a A$500 000 payment to Blackham as a rehabilitation liability, which is due by the end of June, and which will be deducted from future brine royalties.
In addition, Salt Lake has been set a number of production milestones, including the completion of de-watering its Williamson pit by the end of July this year, starting construction in an SoP processing plant by the end of June next year, and commercial production of SoP by the end of December 2021.
Salt Lake said on Monday that the dewatering of the Williamson pit will start in the second quarter of this year, once the first phase of the evaporation ponds is complete. On-site preparation work has already started for the de-watering activity, including the welding of a pipeline.
Blackham is scheduled to start mining at the Williamson pit in the September quarter.