Investing News NetworkAUSTRALIA
Charger Metals NL (ASX: CHR, ‘Charger’ or ‘the Company’) is pleased to announce it has entered into a binding farm-in agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Ltd (“RTX”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO) for its Lake Johnston Lithium Project in the Yilgarn of Western Australia (RTX Agreement).
- Charger has entered into a binding agreement with Lithium Australia Limited (ASX: LIT) to purchase their minority interest in the Lake Johnston Lithium Project for $2 million to increase Charger’s interest to 100% (LIT Agreement)1.
- Simultaneously, Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Ltd (“RTX”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), has signed a binding farm-in agreement for the Lake Johnston Lithium Project (RTX Agreement)1:
- RTX to pay Charger $500,000 and invest $1.2 million in Charger prior to commencement of farm-in;
- RTX to spend minimum $3 million exploration expenditure over the first 12 months;
- RTX can earn 51% by sole funding $10 million in exploration expenditure and paying Charger minimum further cash payments of $1.5 million;
- RTX can earn 75% by sole funding $40 million in exploration expenditure or completing a Definitive Feasibility Study.
- The RTX deal reaffirms the prospectivity of the Lake Johnston Lithium Project and its potential to host a large-scale lithium deposit.
Charger’s Managing Director, Aidan Platel, commented:
“The Rio Tinto Exploration farm-in agreement is an excellent result for Charger and its shareholders and reaffirms our belief that the Lake Johnston Project has potential to host a large-scale lithium deposit. The planned significant investment by RTX will allow thorough systematic exploration over all of the project tenure, with initial exploration focused on fast-tracking the Medcalf Spodumene Prospect as well as progressing the Mt Day and Mt Gordon lithium prospects.”
Charger’s Chairman, Adrian Griffin, commented:
“The Rio Tinto Exploration farm-in agreement will see them potentially spending up to $42.5 million to earn up to a 75% interest in the Lake Johnston Project. The largely unexplored Lake Johnston Greenstone belt now hosts multiple spodumene discoveries and with the recent focus and increasing exploration activity could evolve into a prominent lithium province.”
Figure 1. Location of the Lake Johnston Lithium Project which was first successfully drilled for lithium in December 2022.
Figure 2. Selected RC drill intersections of spodumene-bearing pegmatites at the Medcalf Prospect.2
Figure 3. Soil sample results of the Mt Gordon tenement showing lithium anomalies. TG Metals Ltd’s soil anomalies at their Burmeister lithium discovery are shown for reference. 3
TG Metals has conducted infill and extensional soil sampling (400m x 50m spacing) over the area immediately east of their recent discovery of a spodumene rich pegmatite at Burmeister (TG6 ASX announcements of 30 October 2023 and 13 November 2023). The results have defined a new area of lithium-in-soils anomalism, identified as the Jaegermeister Prospect, which extends to Charger’s 100% owned Mt Gordon lithium prospect (see Figure 3).
About the Lake Johnston Lithium Project
The Lake Johnston Lithium Project is located 450km east of Perth, Western Australia. Lithium prospects occur within a 50km long corridor along the southern and western margin of the Lake Johnston granite batholith. Key target areas include the Medcalf Spodumene Prospect, the Mt Gordon Lithium Prospect and much of the Mount Day LCT pegmatite field, prospective for lithium and tantalum minerals.
The Lake Johnston Lithium Project is located approximately 70km east of the large Earl Grey (Mt Holland) Lithium Project which is under development by Covalent Lithium Pty Ltd (manager of a joint venture between subsidiaries of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. and Wesfarmers Limited). Mt Holland is understood to be one of the largest hard-rock lithium projects in Australia with Ore Reserves for the Earl Grey Deposit estimated at 189 Mt at 1.5% Li2O.4
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Charger Metals
Overview
Australia is known as the top lithium-producing country on the planet, with an average lithium production of 55,000 metric tons (MT) per year and an estimated 3.8 million MT of lithium reserves. In 2019, Australia produced 55 percent of the world’s lithium supply. The added presence of nickel and copper in Australia makes it an ideal destination for mining essential battery metals and an extremely valuable location for exploration. The country is poised to play a significant role in the global quest for emissions reduction, as demand for battery metals for electric vehicle production continues to rise.
Charger Metals (ASX:CHR) is an exploration-focused battery minerals company targeting lithium and other battery metal projects throughout Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Charger Metals currently has three projects in the exploration phase, with drill-ready targets for lithium, nickel, copper and platinum-group elements (PGEs). The company has a strong management team composed of mining industry professionals with strong backgrounds in battery metals.
The company’s 70-percent-owned Bynoe project is the company’s flagship and covers 62.7 square kilometers. Located in the Northern Territory, the project is surrounded by the Finnis Lithium Project, a successful mine operated by Core Lithium, with a current mineral resource estimate of 18.9 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.32 percent lithium oxide. The proximity of a world-class mine creates confidence that the Bynoe project will yield positive results.
Charger Metals is led by a team with the experience and expertise to help nurture each of the company’s projects. Aidan Platel, managing director and CEO, is a geologist and mining executive with more than 25 years of experience in the minerals industry. Terry Gardiner, a non-executive chairman, has over 20 years of experience in capital markets, stockbroking, derivatives trading and working with private investors. Along with Charger’s team of geologists, these executives’ combined experience has the potential to lead the company to success.
Company Highlights
- Charger Metals is an Australia-based exploration company with three projects located throughout Australia, the world’s largest producer of lithium.
- Each of the company’s projects provides access to important battery metals, such as lithium, nickel, copper and PGEs.
- The Lake Johnston project is Charger Metals’ most advanced project and contains a high amount of unexplored pegmatites with final assays of its maiden drill program at the Medcalf Prospect indicating significant intersections including:
- 4 meters @ 2.06 percent Li2O from 145 meters (23CRC013)
- 6 meters @ 1.56 percent Li2O from 19 meters (23CRC006)
- 6 meters @ 1.52 percent Li2O from 26 meters (22CRC005)
- 5 meters @ 1.86 percent Li2O from 24 meters (22CRC007)
- The Bynoe project is surrounded by Australia’s most recent lithium producer, creating confidence that Bynoe will also bear fruit.
- T1 drilling program at the Coates project has been completed, with four diamond core drill holes all intersecting the targeted Coates Mafic intrusion.
- Charger Metals has a strong leadership team with decades of applicable experience that will help guide the development of each project and the company overall.
Key Projects
Bynoe Lithium Project
The Bynoe project is 70 percent owned by Charger and 30 percent owned by Lithium Australia NL (ASX:LIT). It is located within the Pine Creek orogen, which includes the Bynoe Pegmatite Field. The target is a lithium-bearing pegmatite that may also include gold. Bynoe is surrounded by Core Lithium Ltd.’s Finnis Lithium Project, Australia’s newest lithium mine with a current mineral resource estimate of 18.9 Mt at 1.32 percent lithium oxide. Geochemistry and aeromagnetic programs completed by Charger, combined with drilling information provided by Core Lithium Ltd, suggest multiple swarms of lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites that extend from the adjacent Finniss Lithium Project into Charger’s Bynoe Lithium Project.
Project Highlights:
- Drill-ready Targets: Recent geochemistry results highlight large LCT pegmatite target zones, with significant strike lengths of 8 kilometers at Megabucks and 3.5 kilometers at 7-Up. Other large drill targets include Enterprise and Old Bucks.
- Drilling Plan Approved: All permits are currently in place for the maiden drill program.
Lake Johnston Project
Unlike many of the other greenstone belts in Western Australia, the Lake Johnston region has not been actively explored for lithium. However, the nearby Covalent Lithium’s Early Grey/MT Holland lithium deposit is located only 70 kilometers to the west, which creates significant interest in the area.
The area is known for its large LCT pegmatite field, which attracted Charger Metals’ interest. The Lake Johnston project is Charger Metals’ most advanced project and contains a high amount of unexplored granite intrusions that are associated with pegmatites. The Medcalf Spodumene Prospect is fully permitted for drilling and contains a swarm of spodumene pegmatites, strong soil anomalies, and rock chips ranging between 1.51 percent and 7.15 percent Li2O6. A maiden 7,199-meter drill program was completed in March 2023 with a total of 41 RC holes. The drilling aimed at testing pegmatites over a length of 700 meters at surface and up to 280 meters down dip of mapped spodumene-bearing pegmatite outcrops.
During the 1980s and 1990s, nickel was discovered in the area and paved the way for the Maggie Hay Nickel Mine currently owned by Poseidon Nickel Ltd. Most of the exploration in the area since then has focused on the greenstone belts, leaving many areas of the project unexplored.
Project Highlights:
- The drill campaign at the Medcalf Spodumene Prospect included 41 holes, which increased the known extent of the swarm of spodumene-bearing pegmatites occurring within a 100-meter zone, and demonstrated that these extend under transported cover and at depth.
- High-grade lithium results returned significant intersections including:
- 4 meters @ 2.06 percent Li2O from 145 meters (23CRC013)
- 6 meters @ 1.56 percent Li2O from 19 meters (23CRC006)
- 6 meters @ 1.52 percent Li2O from 26 meters (22CRC005)
- 5 meters @ 1.86 percent Li2O from 24 meters (22CRC007)
- Mount Day Lithium Prospect: Large geochemical survey generated lithium anomalies over LCT-pegmatites. Numerous mapped pegmatites within a 5.5-kilometer by 1.5-kilometer field
Coates Ni-Cu-PGE Project
The Coates project is approximately 25 kilometers southeast of the Julimar Ni-Cu-PGE Project, owned by Chalice Mining Limited. It was announced in March 2020 that new sulphide mineralization at the Julimar project contains nickel, copper and PGEs. Since the discovery, both Chalice and other regional explorers have found evidence of similar prospectus in the area.
These discoveries highlight the potential of the geological terrain of this style of mineralization.
Previous exploration has been conducted in the area dating back to the 1930s, however much of those exploration attempts were focused on vanadium or bauxite. The more recent exploration work, completed in 2011, showed the potential for a variety of valuable minerals, including nickel and copper. The Coates mafic intrusion extends onto Chargers’ project and previous drilling has identified anomalous nickel, copper and PGE mineralization.
Project Highlights:
- T1 Drilling Program Completed: Four diamond core drill holes were completed at the T1 target for a total of 593 meters, each of them intersecting the targeted Coates Mafic intrusion
- Pyrrhotite and pyrite, with accessory chalcopyrite, intersected in holes targeting FLTEM conductors at depths close to the modeled position
- Awaiting results of assay core samples
Management Team
Aidan Platel - Managing Director and CEO
Aidan Platel is an experienced geologist and mining executive with more than 25 years of experience in the minerals industry. Platel has a broad skill set covering exploration, study execution, project development, mining, mineral processing and corporate financing experience within the resource and mining service sectors. He has worked in both mining and exploration roles across a wide range of commodities and has held numerous board and senior management positions in the mining and exploration industry, including as managing director of Auroch Minerals. He holds a Bachelor of Science (honors in geology) from the University of Western Australia and has a Master of Business Administration from the Curtin Graduate School of Business.
Adrian Griffin - Non-executive Chairman
Adrian Griffin has more than 40 years of experience in the mining industry – ranging from project identification, through exploration, development and financing, and oversight of integrated mining and processing facilities. He was previously managing director of Lithium Australia. He is focused on the downstream production of lithium-ion battery components, and recycling of battery/e-waste to recover the energy metals they contain. Griffin was a founding director of Northern Minerals (the first heavy-rare-earths producer outside China) and brings particular expertise in a wide range of mineral exploration and mineral processing techniques, particularly in the lithium and nickel sectors.
David Crook - Non-executive Director
David Crook is an experienced managing director with a strong technical and commercial background. Crook has 40 years of experience as a geologist with a demonstrated discovery and production record, including in nickel, gold, caesium and lithium, which included 16 years as managing director of ASX-listed Pioneer Resources Limited. Crook was part of the geological teams that made discoveries at Mt Jewell (gold), Sinclair (caesium), Dome North (lithium), Kalpini and Goongarrie (nickel laterite) and Gidgee Gold Mine (gold).
Terry Gardiner - Non-executive Director
Terry Gardiner was appointed to the board of directors upon incorporation. He has strong experience in capital raising, support, promotion and corporate advisory services to listed companies in Australia and overseas. He has 30 years of experience investing in capital markets and extensive experience in funds management for sophisticated and private investors. He is currently a non-executive director of Cazaly Resources Limited and Galan Lithium Limited. He is also an executive director of Barclay Wells Ltd, a boutique stockbroking firm with offices in Perth and Melbourne.
Jonathan Whyte - Company Secretary
Jonathan Whyte has extensive corporate, company secretarial and financial accounting experience, predominantly for listed resource companies. He is currently the company secretary of AIM-listed Empyrean Energy Plc, ASX-listed Peninsula Energy Limited and ASX-Listed Ironbark Zinc Limited. Whyte previously worked in the investment banking sector in London over six years for Credit Suisse and Barclays Capital Plc.