PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Arizona Lithium on Monday announced that takeover target Prairie Lithium has received A$1.2-million in grant funding from the Critical Mineral Research Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program of natural resources in Canada (NRCan).
The grant funding will be matched with funding from Prairie and will be invested in the development of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.
Arizona earlier this year struck a deal to acquire Prairie Lithium for C$40-million in cash and 500-million of its own shares, giving Prairie shareholders a 15% interest in Arizona Lithium.
Prairie Lithium president and CEO Zach Maurer said that securing support from NRCan was instrumental for the company’s development and further demonstrated the federal government’s commitment to developing key critical mineral projects across the country.
“The grant allows us to accelerate our DLE technology development with the goal of advancing to commercial scale lithium production as quickly as possible.”
Arizona Lithium MD Paul Lloyd added that the company was pleased that Prairie had been awarded this grant funding, as Arizona continued to position the group as a leader in lithium processing and development in North America.
“We look forward to using our joint lithium expertise to further advance the DLE technology at both Arizona Lithium’s Lithium Research Centre in Tempe, Arizona and Prairie’s pilot plant in Emerald Park, Saskatchewan.”