Riversgold Ltd (ASX:RGL) has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire eight highly prospective lithium tenements south of Southern Cross, near Marvel Loch in the West Australian goldfields.
This newly acquired land package comprises 292 square kilometres across the highly prospective Southern Cross greenstone belt, 63 kilometres from the globally significant Mt Holland Lithium Project.
Included in the package are four granted tenements in the Marvel Loch area, which cover 188 square kilometres including key greenstones west of the Ghooli Dome, a single tenement at Nevoria and three tenements in the Mt Hampton area south of Marvel Loch.
Notably, the tenement package includes seven granted exploration licences giving fast access to the ground.
Looking ahead, Riversgold’s exploration program will focus on the discovery of large lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) systems at the newly acquired prospects.
“Significant transaction”
Riversgold CEO Julian Ford said: “This acquisition is the second significant transaction for RGL in 2022 as we move quickly to establish the company as a serious player in the Australian lithium sector.
The Southern Cross-Marvel Loch tenements (SX-MVL) were keenly sought after, given their strategic location in the Yilgarn Craton along the same geological trend as Covalent Lithium’s Mt Holland Lithium Project and its 189-million-tonne at 1.5% lithium oxide (Li2O) resource.
“In our view, the new ground is highly prospective for lithium pegmatites and adds to our strategic lithium tenement holding in the Pilbara Craton.
“We are also pleased to announce that exploration efforts are targeted to commence in earnest within the coming weeks.”
Tenements overview
Covering an area of 292 square kilometres, the Southern Cross-Marvel Loch Project (SX-MVL) comprises seven granted exploration licences and one that remains an exploration licence application.
Notably, multiple large pegmatite swarms have been interpreted across 16.5 square kilometres from magnetic low features within the Marvel Loch tenements.
Evaluation of the previous drilling across SX-MVL project areas is underway to develop a model of the geometry of the pegmatites.
Together with the Tambourah Lithium Project in the Pilbara, RGL aims to become a significant West Australian-based hard-rock lithium business.
Location of SX-MVL project relative to other major lithium mines
Acquisition terms
As consideration for 100% ownership of the SX-MVL tenements, RGL has agreed to issue 14,705,882 new fully paid ordinary shares to the vendors, Mining Equities Pty Ltd and Bullfinch Metals Pty Ltd, 55% and 45% respectively.
The consideration shares will be issued pursuant to the company’s available capacity under Listing Rule 7.1.
The gold rights for E77/2418 remain with Blackwater Resources Pty Ltd. Mining Equities will retain a 1% net smelter royalty (NSR) on all minerals mined from the tenements, excluding the gold rights for E77/2418.