Lithium Australia maintains battery minerals interests with investment in Charger Metals NL

Lithium Australia NL (ASX:LIT) (OTCMKTS:LMMFF) (FRA:3MW) has progressed its joint venture agreement with Charger Metals announced in December 2020 with Charger making progress towards its initial public offering on the ASX. The company granted Charger the option to acquire part of its Australian exploration assets in line with its strategy to offload non-core exploration plays to focus on battery supply chains.  Charger has an option until September 4, 2021, to acquire Lithium Australia’s exploration projects including:  The Coates project in the highly prospective Western Yilgarn nickel/copper/platinum group elements belt, close to Chalice Mining Ltd's Julimar discovery in Western Australia;  The Lake Johnston project, near Southern Cross in Western Australia, prospective for lithium, gold and nickel; and  The Bynoe project, near Darwin in the Northern Territory, prospective for lithium and gold.  “Retains significant exposure to battery minerals”  Lithium Australia will retain a 30% interest in the exploration projects, free carried to the definitive feasibility study notice, and will be the major shareholder in Charger. LIT managing director Adrian Griffin said: "The company’s retains significant exposure to battery minerals and potential supply solutions while maintaining a focus on its core business – that of ensuring an ethical and sustainable supply of energy metals to the battery industry via the creation of a circular battery economy.”  In addition, Lithium Australia shareholders will be offered a priority allocation in the Charger IPO which is currently progressing. Coates project  The Coates mafic intrusive complex lies about 28 kilometres southeast of the nickel-copper-PGE discovery at the Julimar project of Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN) (OTCMKTS:CGMLF) (FRA:C8U) which is developing rapidly as drilling progresses and has attracted strong interest in this new exploration province.  Coates project exhibits geology similar to the Chalice discovery, with geochemistry results from an adjacent tenement returning encouraging nickel, copper, PGE and gold anomalies - providing the motivation to further explore this target. The township of Wundowie sits on the flanks of the Coates Mafic Intrusion, which also hosts a vanadium deposit mined briefly in the 1980s. Examples of Western Australian mafic intrusions that host nickel mineralisation include Radio Hill near Karratha and Carr Boyd near Kalgoorlie, both of which went on to host underground mines.  The location plan of the Coates project shows it in relation to Chalice's Julimar project, which is overlain on the regional aeromagnetic image. Bynoe project  The company's Bynoe lithium and gold project tenement (EL30897) is surrounded by the very large tenement holdings comprising Core Lithium Ltd’s (ASX:CXO) (OTCMKTS:CXOXF) Finniss Lithium Project, reported as having a total mineral resource inventory of 14.7 million tonnes at 1.32% lithium oxide (Li2O), of which 7.6 million tonnes are in the measured and indicated mineral resource category.  Finniss is at a very advanced stage of development, with a definitive feasibility study completed in April 2019.  Lake Johnston project  Reconnaissance geological mapping and geochemical sampling have identified a number of lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites and the discovery of a spodumene pegmatite cluster at Bontempelli Hill near Lake Medcalf in Western Australia.  The Bontempelli Hill outcrops consist of stacked pegmatites containing ~20-30% spodumene.  Rock-chip samples from the pegmatite dyke swarm average 3.6% Li2O, with up to a maximum 7.15% Li2O from spodumene outcrop.  Soil sampling and geology indicate possible extensions to the southeast under adjacent cover. There has been no drilling on any of the lithium targets. The location of the company's Bynoe project.  Terms of amended agreement  The company has granted Charger an option until September 4, 2021, to acquire a 70% interest in these projects.  The consideration payable to Lithium Australia by Charger is:  $100,000 for reimbursement of previous expenditure incurred on the projects; 9.6 million fully paid ordinary shares of Charger;   $200,000 cash or 2 million shares on establishment of either a JORC 2012 resource over the projects of an inferred resource of 10,000 tonnes contained nickel equivalent, or inferred resource of 10 million tonnes at equal to or greater than 1.2% Li2O, or inferred resource of 100,000 ounces at +2 g/t gold equivalent; and Charger to pay the company’s joint-venture expenditure share until receipt of the definitive feasibility study notice. The transaction is subject to due diligence, and to Charger receiving approval from the ASX for its shares to be admitted to the official list of the ASX. All Lithium Australia shareholders will be offered a priority entitlement in the Charger IPO, with an allocation of $500,000.