Overview
The encouraging development of electrical automobiles (EVs) is having constructive results on the demand for battery metals similar to lithium. World lithium consumption is anticipated to succeed in 1,427 kt of lithium carbon equal (LCE) in 2025, up from 797 kt of manufacturing in 2022, in keeping with a Q2 2023 report from Australia’s Workplace of the Chief Economist. Latest decrease pricing of lithium within the spot market has not modified the underlying international development of EV’s and the geopolitical provide dangers within the provide chain.
EVs are driving the rising demand for lithium-ion batteries ensuing within the development of the market globally. This places the deal with junior mining firms which are busy creating vital mineral tasks world wide particularly with doubtlessly decrease working prices long run. With lithium costs experiencing a downward development, now might be an opportune time for traders to get into the lithium area because it stays a vital factor for batteries and electrical automobiles. With lithium property in Tier 1 mining jurisdictions, Australia-based QX Assets (ASX:QXR) presents traders publicity to this quickly increasing market.
QXR’s lithium technique is centered across the growth of its Liberty Lithium Brine Venture in California and a portfolio of lithium tasks throughout the Pilbara area of Western Australia. Liberty Lithium is among the largest single lithium brine tasks within the US with contiguous claims over 102 sq. kilometres (equal to twice the realm of Sydney Harbour). The geological setting of the mission mirrors Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium brine deposit in Clayton Valley, Nevada, and main Argentina brine tasks. Like Silver Peak, QXR’s Liberty might be a large-scale, producing lithium brine asset.
Downstream producers within the US, together with automakers, are in want of securing lithium provide, particularly if home provide is out there. As such, automakers within the US have been making vital investments in lithium tasks. The latest was a $100-million funding by Stellantis into Managed Thermal Assets, which owns a lithium mission in California. It’s encouraging to notice rising curiosity from end-users investing immediately into tasks making Liberty Lithium a pretty alternative.
The corporate has an indicative growth plan involving drilling, sampling and testwork beginning with two permitted drill holes over the principle a part of the floor lithium anomaly, deliberate for November-December 2023. The purpose is to establish lithium-bearing brine aquifers at depth, which is anticipated to result in detailed drilling towards an preliminary useful resource by mid-2024. QXR has adequate monetary muscle to hold out the drilling and different work, particularly with the current AU$3 million elevate through a non-public placement and entry to a further AU$3 million below an at-the-market (ATM) facility.
QXR intends to gather giant volumes of lithium brines and submit them for testwork with varied direct lithium extraction (DLE) suppliers. DLE applied sciences has the potential to considerably enhance the provision of lithium from brine tasks given increased recoveries, together with the bonus of sustainability and ESG advantages. Numerous confirmed DLE applied sciences are rising and being examined at scale, presenting a chance for QXR to search out strategic companions.
The corporate is headed by managing director Steve Promnitz, who has a confirmed monitor file within the lithium sector. He efficiently reworked Lake Assets, a lithium brine developer, from a $1-million market worth non-public firm to an ASX-listed firm with an AU$2.1-billion market capitalization upon his departure in 2022. His geology and chemistry background together with expertise of working in main mining firms, similar to CRA and Rio Tinto, ought to show useful for QXR.
Firm Highlights
- QX Assets is an Australia-based firm targeted on the exploration and growth of battery minerals, with an enormous lithium brine mission within the US, arduous rock lithium property in a primary location in Western Australia (WA), copper-molybdenum-gold property in Queensland and a strategic funding in nickel sulphides in Sweden.
- Liberty Lithium Brine Venture, positioned in California, is taken into account analogous to Albemarle’s Silver Peak deposit and is among the largest single lithium brine tasks within the USA with contiguous claims over 102 sq. kilometres.
- The possibly large-scale lithium brine mission positioned within the US is of great significance, as contributors within the electrical car worth chain are aggressively looking for to safe home battery minerals provide to steadiness potential supply-side geopolitical dangers to the vitality transition.
- QXR has commenced drilling of the Liberty Lithium Venture and secured AU$3 million in funding in late 2023 together with entry to a further AU$3 million below an at-the-market facility. The goal is to publish an preliminary useful resource on the mission by mid-2024.
- Moreover, the fundraise additionally presents flexibility to ramp up exploration actions throughout its Pilbara lithium arduous rock mission that are additionally very thrilling prospects. It has 4 lithium arduous rock tasks within the Pilbara Province spanning 350 sq. kilometres and in proximity to a few of Australia’s largest lithium deposits and mines.
- The corporate’s different property embody the copper-gold-molybdenum mission in Queensland and a 39-percent stake in Bayrock Assets, which owns a portfolio of battery metals tasks in Sweden.
Key Tasks
Liberty Lithium Brine Venture
QXR has entered right into a binding settlement with vendor IG Lithium LLC (IGL) to amass a 75 p.c curiosity within the Liberty Lithium Brine Venture in California. Individually, QXR agreed to buy a small package deal of leases adjoining to Liberty Lithium to consolidate the realm, requiring cost of US$100,000 money and QXR shares of the identical worth to the third-party leaseholder.
The Liberty Lithium Brine Venture, positioned in SaltFire Flat, California, is made up of 1,269 contiguous claims over 102 sq. kilometres (10,230 hectares). It is among the largest single lithium brine tasks within the US. The mission is positioned close to long-life evaporation operations and is well-serviced by roads and energy in a area eager to be a part of the vitality transition.
Venture Highlights:
- Promising Geology. The mission has an identical look to well-known lithium brine tasks in Argentina/Chile, rising confidence within the potential for large-scale lithium discovery. QXR has indicated it’s seeing vital native county and regulatory curiosity in creating Liberty Lithium in direction of manufacturing, pushed by the assist for battery minerals manufacturing on this a part of California.
- Robust Sampling Outcomes. Sampling on the mission has returned as much as 215 mg/L lithium in brine at floor. These elevated lithium outcomes lengthen over a formidable distance of 10 kilometres, demonstrating the strong potential of the Liberty Lithium Venture. Related close by brine tasks, similar to Pure Power Minerals’ Clayton Valley mission simply throughout the California/Nevada border, are advancing to potential financial growth on decrease grades downhole of 110 to 160 mg/L lithium. Geophysical evaluation exhibits a big basin over 1,000 metres deep and indicating brine aquifer targets at depth.
- Drill Program Underway. QXR has undertaken a diamond drill program with two permitted drill holes totaling 1,000 metres, together with downhole sampling and geophysics, focused on the centre of the floor lithium anomaly. Drilling started in November-December 2023 and is continuous in early 2024. Bulk volumes of lithium brines might be submitted for testwork with varied DLE suppliers. The purpose is to establish lithium-bearing brine aquifers at depth, which is anticipated to result in an preliminary useful resource by mid-2024.
- Future Partnerships. Finish-users, DLE know-how suppliers, mission builders, and battery makers have already intimated curiosity in taking part with QXR as soon as lithium brines are recognized in drill holes.
Hardrock Lithium – Pilbara
Along with its California asset, QXR has a extremely potential portfolio of lithium tasks throughout the Pilbara area of Western Australia, protecting a mixed space of 355 sq. kilometres. The portfolio includes 4 arduous rock lithium tasks – Turner River, Western Shaw, Break up Rock and Xmas River.
Turner River Venture
The Turner River lithium mission is positioned about 120 kilometres south of Port Headland and is accessible through the Nice Northern Freeway. It’s positioned about 12 kilometres south of the Woodgina lithium mine website, one of many world’s largest hardrock lithium deposits.
Rock chip sampling on the Turner River Lithium mission returned grades of as much as 4.90 p.c lithium oxide in samples of lepidolite. Assay outcomes from extra rock chip sampling returned 1.6 p.c and 1.1 p.c lithium oxide. Pegmatites have been noticed in different areas at Turner River, which might be drilled in future drilling campaigns.
Western Shaw Lithium Venture
The mission spanning 96 sq. kilometres is positioned 220 kilometres southeast of Port Hedland in Western Australia with entry through the Nice Northern Freeway. A number of pegmatites have been recognized and sampled within the west and south of QXR’s Western Shaw leases. Pegmatites appeared bigger and extra ample within the southern part. Quite a few pegmatites returned encouraging lithium outcomes from cellular XRF evaluation. Eighteen samples returned between 300 and 600 components per million (ppm) lithium in pegmatites at Western Shaw.
Break up Rock Venture
The mission covers an space of 35 sq. kilometres and is roughly 200 kilometres southeast of Port Hedland and 180 kilometres north of Newman. It’s positioned alongside the southeast margin of the Break up-Rock Supersuite, which is taken into account regionally potential for lithium-bearing pegmatites. The mission is definitely accessible through a longtime street community. The proximity to Thor Mining’s (ASX: THR) Ragged Vary mission, which has reported plenty of targets potential for lithium inside its tenement space, is encouraging. The mission is prone to even be potential for base metals together with copper, lead, zinc, silver and gold, given the quite a few base metals prospects that happen alongside the north and south margins of its tenement.
Central Queensland Gold Tasks
QXR is creating two Central Queensland gold tasks (the Belyando and Fortunate Break Mines) via an earn-in settlement with Zamia Assets. QXR at present owns 70 p.c of Zamia Assets and has the flexibility to earn as much as 90-percent curiosity by spending an extra $1 million on exploration and mission growth works. Each gold tasks are strategically positioned throughout the Drummond Basin, a area that has a greater than 6.5-Moz gold endowment.
Map of Areas of Zamia’s Exploration Tenements in Australia
Along with the 2 gold tasks, Zamia owns an advanced-stage pure Molybdenum (Mo) deposit in Central Queensland, the Anthony Molybdenum Venture. The mission is adjoining to main sealed roads and close to rail and vitality assist. The Anthony Venture has a JORC-2012 compliant indicated and inferred mineral useful resource estimate of 24,700 tonnes (53.7 million kilos) of contained molybdenum in sulphide, transition (partial oxide), and oxide zones from floor.
Bayrock Assets
QXR holds 39 p.c of Bayrock Assets, an unlisted public Australian firm, which has a portfolio of battery minerals exploration and growth property in Sweden, primarily in nickel, cobalt and copper. The 2 major tasks embody the Lainejaur Venture and the Vuostok Venture throughout the Northern Nickel Line. Bayrock is totally funded to hold out its deliberate exploration actions on the Lainejaur Ni-Cu-Co mission and the Vuostok mission.
The Lainejaur mission is an advanced-stage nickel-dominated battery metals asset, the place current drilling (July 2023) has returned 4.7 metres at 2 p.c nickel, 1.6 p.c copper and 0.1 p.c cobalt from 283 metres downhole. The mission has an current JORC 2012 inferred mineral useful resource estimate of 460,000 tonnes @ 2.2 p.c nickel, 0.15 p.c cobalt, 0.70 p.c copper, 0.68 g/t palladium, 0.20 g/t platinum and 0.6 5g/t gold.
The Northern Nickel Line covers practically 340 sq. kilometres comprising 5 exploration permits over areas beneficial for nickel-copper-cobalt in Northern Sweden. The first focus throughout the Northern Nickel Line is the Vuostok Venture, the place a diamond drill program has returned encouraging outcomes, to date. Excessive-grade nickel-copper has been intersected together with 6.9 metres at 1.2 p.c nickel, 2.2 p.c copper from 5 metres downhole, and in one other drillhole with 6.2 metres at 1.2 p.c nickel, from 11 metres downhole.
Administration Staff
Maurice Feilich – Government Chairman
Maurice Feilich has been concerned in funding markets for practically 30 years, commencing his profession as an institutional by-product dealer at McIntosh Securities in 1998. He joined Tricom Equities in 2000 as head of equities, and in 2010, turned a founding accomplice of Sanlam Non-public Wealth. Feilich has a monitor file of success and strong networks within the small assets sector.
Steve Promnitz – Managing Director
Steve Promnitz has vital expertise within the assets sector, having labored within the gold sector with main and mid-tier producers in addition to throughout the battery minerals of copper, nickel and uncommon earths. Beforehand, he was CEO of small/mid-tier firms and has held senior administration roles with international useful resource firms (Rio Tinto, WMC) and senior company finance roles with main banks (Westpac, Citigroup). Promnitz efficiently reworked Lake Assets, a lithium brine developer, from a $1-million market worth non-public firm to an ASX-listed firm with an AU$2.1-billion market capitalization on the time of his departure. He holds a BSc (Hons) from Monash College.
Ben Jarvis – Non-executive Director
Ben Jarvis has in depth expertise within the small assets sector as each a public firm director and strategic advisor. Since 2011, he has been a non-executive director of South American-focused gold and silver mining firm, Austral Gold (ASX:AGD) which is dual-listed on the Australian Securities Change and the Toronto Enterprise Change (TSX-V: AGLD). Jarvis is the managing director and co-founder of Six Levels Investor Relations, an Australian advisory agency he fashioned in 2006 that gives investor relations companies to a broad vary of firms listed on the Australian Securities Change.
Roger Jackson – Non-executive Director
A certified geologist with a profession spanning greater than 25 years, Roger Jackson has appreciable expertise in mineral exploration, mine administration, mining companies and the advertising of mineral concentrates. Jackson is the founding director of plenty of firms together with Central Gold Mines, Bracken Assets, and Hellyer Gold Mines. He’s a long-standing member of the Australian Institute of Firm Administrators, member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, fellow of the Geological Society of London and a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgists.
Dan Smith – Non-executive Director & Firm Secretary
Dan Smith holds a Bachelor of Arts and is a fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia. He has 14 years of main and secondary capital markets experience and has suggested on and been concerned in plenty of IPOs, RTOs and capital raisings on the ASX and NSX. Smith serves as non-executive director and firm secretary of plenty of firms on ASX and AIM.
This text was written in collaboration with Couloir Capital Ltd.
