Usha Resources Ltd (TSX-V:USHA) said it has received the final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) for its mineral property option agreement with Ares Strategic Mining (TSX-V:ARS) Inc, announced earlier this year, to acquire a 100% interest in 140 mineral claims located in Jackpot Lake, Clark County, Nevada.
"The closing of this acquisition is a key transformative event that firmly establishes the company as a North American battery metals explorer,” Deepak Varshney, CEO of Usha Resources said in a statement.
“We are very excited to move this project forward and plan on completing an aggressive exploration program by drilling both shallow and deep holes with the goal of completing a 43-101 resource estimate by Q4 of 2022," he added.
READ: Usha Resources announces amendment to its option deal for drill-ready Jackpot Lake lithium project, Nevada
“The addition of Jackpot means that 2022 will be an extremely active period for Usha with three planned drill programs and a spinout giving our shareholders a number of potential catalysts across our various projects," the CEO noted.
The company said it is proceeding with the first issuance of 1,678,062 common shares to the vendor at a price of $0.30 per share, based on the company's 10-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP). The shares are subject to the exchange hold period plus a hold period of four months and one day.
The “drill-ready” Jackpot Lake project at the 2,800-acre property is exploring a "playa" that appears to be within a closed basin that may potentially contain lithium-rich brines, Usha said, noting that the geology is similar to Albemarle's Silver Peak Nevada lithium mine which has operated continuously since 1966, and Iconic Mineral's Bonnie Claire project, which recently released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) that indicated a 40-year mine with an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $1.5 billion.
Vancouver-headquartered Usha has a portfolio of strategic properties, which comprise Jackpot Lake, a lithium project in Nevada, Nicobat, a nickel‑copper‑cobalt project in Ontario along with Lost Basin, a gold-copper project in Arizona.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com