Lithium developer Core Lithium has entered into a binding tenement sale and purchase agreement with Newmont Exploration Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of gold producer Newmont Corporation, to acquire the Shoobridge project in the Northern Territory.
The project is about 80 kilometres south-southeast of the Core’s 100 per cent owned Finniss lithium project near Darwin, within the Tipperary pegmatite district which includes the Shoobridge pegmatite field and the Plateau Point pegmatite field.
The Shoobridge pegmatites have been exploited for their tin and tantalum and are the site of the first discovery of tin-bearing pegmatites in the NT in 1882.
Importantly, the pegmatites are considered analogous to those in the Bynoe pegmatite district and therefore complementary to Core’s NT lithium portfolio.
Core will be the first company to explore and drill these prospective, potentially lithium-rich pegmatite systems for economic spodumene lithium mineralisation.
Commenting on the transaction, Core managing director Stephen Biggins said it was a strategic acquisition with exploration upside that would complement Core’s existing lithium projects in the NT.
Biggins continued: “While we are firmly focused on developing the Finniss lithium project, we are excited by projects such as Shoobridge that provide synergies and complementary lithium growth opportunities.
“The expected increases in resources from this deal and our well-funded resource drill programs at Finniss this year should provide a strong platform for extending and expanding lithium production from the project as lithium prices continue to rise.”
