Astro Resources NL (ASX:ARO) has added two lithium industry veterans to its executive team, as it looks to increase its footprint in claystone-hosted lithium deposits in Nevada and progress its Georgina Basin IOCG Project in the Northern Territory.
The company is also advancing its Governor Broome Mineral Sands Project in WA by upgrading the remaining resource category from inferred to indicated and completing a scoping study.
On top of this, Astro also intends to refine its Australian portfolio in line with this strategic focus by entering into a joint venture arrangement for its East Kimberley diamond project.
New executive chairman Tony Leibowitz and non-executive director John Young will play critical roles in helping Astro achieve these aims.
These appointments, along with the acquisition of two highly prospective landholdings in Nevada, USA, the dominant lithium province in North America, not only give Astro a strong foothold in the region, but also significantly advance its lithium growth strategy.
“We are pleased to announce John’s appointment as a non-executive director to oversee our proposed lithium program in Nevada,” Leibowitz said.
“John is a talented and highly experienced geologist who, together with Neil Biddle, helped implement the exploration strategy which saw the rapid growth of the Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project to become one of the world’s foremost hard rock lithium projects.
“We are looking forward to having John’s experience, energy and drive available to Astro as it advances its lithium exploration strategy in Nevada, where we see huge opportunities to make new discoveries and create significant shareholder value.”
A more hands-on approach
The move of Leibowitz, founding Chairman of ASX-50 lithium producer Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) to executive chairman and the appointment of geologist John Young strengthens and enhances the board’s capability, particularly in its quest for lithium projects in Nevada.
Leibowitz will take a more hands-on approach to advancing Astro’s lithium strategy, bringing a depth of expertise and strong track record of value creation in the junior and mid-tier Australian mining sector, particularly for lithium.
He is highly successful business executive and is well placed to oversee the company’s exploration and growth strategy.
“I am tremendously excited to take on an executive role with Astro, with the company holding a high-quality portfolio of exploration assets, including an expanding lithium landholding in North America’s premier lithium district,” Leibowitz said.
“I intend to take a hands-on role to progress the exploration and development of these assets to take advantage of the exceptionally strong long-term outlook for lithium and the other commodities within our portfolio.”
Young and hungry
John Young is a highly experienced geologist who has worked on exploration and production projects encompassing gold, uranium and specialty metals, including tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum and lithium.
He was previously CEO of Marenica Energy Limited and CEO and director of Thor Mining PLC, as well as exploration manager at Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) from June 2014 until August 2015.
Young played a significant role alongside fellow founding directors Leibowitz and Neil Biddle in overseeing Pilbara’s rapid growth from micro-cap explorer to leading lithium producer.
Young was also a director of Australian gold developer Bardoc Gold Ltd (ASX:BDC) and during his tenure as managing director, he was instrumental in the mergers with Excelsior Gold (ASX:EXG) Ltd and Aphrodite Gold Ltd (ASX:AQQ) to consolidate a large, high-quality gold resource inventory in the North Kalgoorlie district.
New Nevada prospects
As it looks to expand lithium landholding in Nevada, Astro recently secured two new project areas: Polaris and Altair.
These projects are in the southern extent of the Montezuma Valley and were staked after a systematic review of regional open file data, including mapped geology, topography, stream sediment geochemistry, land administration and an assessment of suitable claim-free areas.
Location of the newly staked Polaris and Altair Projects, showing select neighbouring claim holders.
Polaris and Altair are proximal to outcropping tertiary sedimentary host rock units that are known to host claystone lithium deposits around Nevada, including:
- Ioneer Ltd (ASX:INR, OTC:GSCCF)’s DFS-stage Rhyolite Ridge project (US$1.265B after-tax NPV); and
- Lithium America’s 16.1 million tonnes Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) Thacker Pass deposit – the largest lithium deposit in North America.
Astro is targeting shallowly sub-cropping Ts3 lacustrine sedimentary rocks that are prospective for claystone lithium deposits.
The Montezuma Valley is considered highly prospective for this style of mineralisation, with a number of lithium explorer/developers having staked claims in the valley, including:
- American Lithium Corporation Ltd 7.13 million tonnes LCE;
- TLC Lithium Project3American Battery Technology Corporation’s Tonopah Flats Project; and
- Pan-American Energy’s Horizon Lithium project.
Polaris in the north covers an area of 14.5 square kilometres, and Altair in the south covers an area of 27.5 square kilometres, for a total of 509 unpatented mining claims.
The company is now in the final stages of planning an initial drill program at these newly acquired projects.