Charger Metals will acquire the remaining 30 per cent of the Bynoe lithium project in the Northern Territory.
Bynoe is a 70:30 joint venture Charger shares with Livium (formerly known as Lithium Australia). Charger will pay $500,000 in cash for Livium’s 30 per cent stake in Bynoe, making Charger the sole owner of the project.
“We are very pleased to move to 100 per cent ownership of our Bynoe lithium project,” Charger managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Aidan Platel said.
“Covering an area of 63km² and with more than 20 prospective lithium targets yet to be drilled tested, we believe it’s the largest underexplored area of the Finniss pegmatite field that is both inside the lithium prospective structural corridor and within 20km of Core’s spodumene beneficiation plant at Grants.”
The transaction follows Core Lithium attempting to acquire a portion of Charger through Bynoe.
Charger received an unsolicited non-binding takeover offer from Core in August, with the latter keen on Bynoe as it’s surrounded by tenements part of Core’s Finniss operation.
Charger rejected Core’s offer a few weeks later, resulting in Core looking to acquire a portion of Charger through a deal with Livium. As per its pre-emptive rights, Charger will now acquire Livium’s 30 per cent on the same terms offered by Core.
Yesterday, Core published new high-grade lithium drill results within 20km of the Grants processing facility at Finniss. Initial assays at the Blackbeard prospect revealed wide zones of spodumene mineralisation.
Platel said the “excellent intersections” at Blackbeard trends to the northeast towards Bynoe and is modelled to within 50m of Charger’s tenement boundary.
“We are currently completing environmental studies and surveys as part of our drill permitting process, and we look forward to drilling our priority targets next dry season,” he said.
Livium managing director and CEO Simon Linge said divesting the 30 per cent stake in Bynoe will allow the company to focus on creating solutions for the lithium-ion battery materials industry.
“The sale of our interest in the Bynoe lithium project to Charger Metals marks a significant milestone in our strategy to focus on core operations aligned with our long-term vision,” Linge said.
“This transaction enables us to drive key battery recycling initiatives and enhances our balance sheet flexibility for future growth.”
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