Lithium ION Energy Limited has now formalised its joint venture with Aranjin Resources Ltd (TSX-V:ARJN, OTC:FVVSF) in regard to the Victory nickel project in Mongolia.
A strategic alliance with Aranjin was announced in February 2022, allowing both companies to grant one another reciprocal exploration rights to their respective exploration licences within Mongolia.
ION and Aranjin granted each other a reciprocal right to explore one another's properties, with Aranjin earning an 80% interest and ION earning a 20% interest in all base metal projects discovered on ION's properties, and ION earning an 80% interest and Aranjin earning a 20% interest in all lithium projects discovered on Aranjin's properties, subject to existing royalties.
This agreement followed the discovery of the Victory nickel project at the center of ION Energy's Baavhai Uul licence.
Accordingly, ION's 20% interest and Aranjin Resources' 80% ownership of the Victory nickel project in Mongolia has now been formalized. Under the joint venture, Aranjin will own 80% of the Victory nickel project and relinquish rights to the remainder of the licence comprising the Baavhai Uul project. ION Energy will retain a 20% free carried interest in the Victory nickel project until commercial production as well as retain all lithium rights to the Victory nickel project.
"We are extremely pleased to be able to formalize our agreement with Aranjin, realizing the upside of the Victory Nickel deposit by carving out the discovery from the large Baavhai Uul licence enabling Aranjin to immediately begin to unearth value, while ION continues to have a 20% carried interest in the project and all lithium rights therein," said Ali Haji, chief executive of Lithium ION Energy.