VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Lithium exploration junior LSC Lithium has entered into a binding contract to acquire all of the outstanding equity of Alqa Lithium, which owns a 100% stake in the Mina Teresa project that comprises 2 595 ha in the Salar de Salinas Grandes, in Jujuy province, Argentina.
Under terms of the acquisition agreement, LSC will pay Alqa $2-million in cash in three instalments.
The TSX-V-listed company LSC Lithium has amassed a significant portfolio of about 300 000 ha covering prospective lithium-rich salars – or salt flats – and is focused on developing its tenements located in five salars: Pozuelos, Pastos Grandes, Rio Grande, Salinas Grandes, and Jama. All LSC tenements are located in the ‘Lithium Triangle’, an area at the intersection of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, where the world's most abundant lithium brine deposits are found.
According to LSC, Mina Teresa is strategically located immediately next to its tenements Cristina, San José and Mahoma. Following the transaction, LSC's land package on the Salar de Salinas Grandes will total 37 910 ha and represent more than 50% of the salar surface.
The transaction is expected to close by year-end.
LSC also announced that it has been given approval to start its exploration programme on the San José and Navidad concessions, located in the Salinas Grandes salar. These concessions cover a total area of 4 300 ha and are part of a joint venture with fellow TSX-listed Dajin Resources.
LSC said it is now designing an exploration programme to investigate the presence of lithium bearing brine and lithologies on the property. This includes evaluating and integrating historical data into the exploration target model. Thereafter, the programme will potentially include geological mapping, surface sampling, a geophysical data acquisition phase and a drilling phase to confirm the target generation results and potentially deliver a Canadian National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource for the property.