Blackham Resources Ltd (ASX:BLK) has entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Salt Lake Potash (ASX:SO4) to investigate a sulphate of potash opportunity.
Salt Lake Potash holds 290 square kilometres of tenure covering Lake Way near to Blackham’s Matilda-Wiluna Gold Project in Western Australia.
READ: Blackham Resources generates strong February gold production, continues turnaround
Blackham holds 64 square kilometres at the northern end of Lake Way.
MoU will exchange brine and gold rights
Salt Lake Potash (SLP) wants to investigate the potential development of a sulphate of potash (SOP) operation based at Lake Way.
Under the MoU, SLP will acquire Blackham’s brine rights and Blackham will acquire gold rights to SLP’s Lake Way holdings.
Each company will retain a royalty on their respective holdings.
Blackham’s tenure hosts the historical Williamson pit
Within Blackham’s 64 square kilometres is the Williamson pit, last mined in 2006.
Significantly, it is now filled with brine at a high grade of 25 kilograms per cubic metre of SOP.
Williamson pit brine ideal starter feed for evaporation ponds
SLP will investigate the development of an SOP operation at Lake Way, including initially a 40-50,000 tonnes per annum demonstration plant.
SLP would dewater the existing Williamson pit, prior to Blackham mining, planned for early 2019.
The pit’s brine is potentially the ideal starter feed for evaporation ponds, having already evaporated from the normal Lake Way brine grade.
SLP will complete a scoping study for a potential SOP operation at Lake Way, including a demonstration plant, by mid-2018, in time to allow a decision on dewatering the Williamson pit.