Edison enters definitive deal to buy Resource Ventures
2021-06-17 00:58 ET – News Release
Mr. Nathan Rotstein reports
EDISON ACQUIRES LITHIUM BRINE CLAIMS IN SOUTH AMERICA’S FAMED LITHIUM TRIANGLE
Edison Cobalt Corp. has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement to acquire Resource Ventures SA, an Argentine corporation that owns or controls the rights to over 148,000 hectares (365,708 acres) of prospective lithium brine claims in the province of Catamarca, Argentina. The claims are principally located in the two geologic basins known as the Antofalla salar and the Pipanaco salar in South America’s famed Lithium Triangle.
Salar de Antofalla
Located fewer than 20 kilometres west of Livent’s producing lithium operation (formerly known as FMC Corp., Livent is Argentina’s largest lithium producer) in northern Catamarca province, the Antofalla salar hosts one of the largest lithium-bearing basins in the region. It is over 130 km long and varies between five km and 20 km across. On Sept. 12, 2016, Albemarle Corp., the world’s largest producer of lithium, announced that it had acquired from Bolland Minera SA, a large private mining company, exclusive exploration and acquisition rights to a claim block located in the centre section of the Antofalla salar. At that time, Albemarle publicly stated its belief that Antofalla has the third-largest lithium brine reservoir in the world. In 2016, Roskill Information Services reported that Bolland had drilled 56 boreholes over 265 square kilometres and defined a resource of 83 metric tonnes of potash (KCl) grading 6,400 milligrams per litre and 2.22 metric tonnes of lithium (11.8 metric tonnes LCE) grading 350 milligrams per litre. Bolland’s test wells were drilled between 2008 and 2011 in the claim block now owned by Albemarle and were completed in conjunction with the Institute of Mineral Resources for the National University of La Plata in Buenos Aires (Inremi). Well logs, permeability, hydraulic gradient, core sample chemistry and gravimetric studies published by Inremi during that period indicated substantial values for lithium and potassium continuously observed from the surface down to a depth of over 500 metres, suggesting that Antofalla is one of the deepest basins in the region.
In 2018, ReVe secured TEM geophysical studies conducted by Quantec Geoscience Argentina SA, including 187 sounding points conducted across 36.4 km of line scans covering approximately 15,655 hectares (38,683 acres) of claims in the northern area of its claims in the Antofalla salar — all of which indicated the presence of prospective brines down to a depth of approximately 500 metres, which was the intended depth limit of the surveys. Brine in the basin could extend to even greater depths than the TEM scans revealed.
“ReVe’s assets in and around the Antofalla salar are made up of approximately 107,000 hectares (264,397 acres) of semi-contiguous claims in the northern and southern parts of this salar, offsetting either side of Albermarle’s holdings in the centre of this salar. This vast block of lithium claims creates what management believes are to be a very impressive entry point for Eddy as we enter the burgeoning lithium sector,” stated Nathan Rotstein, chief executive officer of Edison. “Large landholdings with viable brine represent extensive, long-life resources, which will be critical for both producers and buyers, as this quarter of the energy metals space continues to mature in the future to meet the ever increasing market demand for lithium.”
Salar de Pipanaco
ReVe’s claims in the Pipanaco salar consist of over 41,000 hectares (101,311 acres) of core areas in this salar, which is located approximately 50 km due west of Catamarca city. These properties are in the very early stages of exploration with minimal surface samples having been collected to date. This salar is at a much lower altitude than Antofalla and was drilled more than 10 years ago in a program for the federal government of Argentina to identify new sources of freshwater. Based on those drilling reports, the company believes that these Pipanaco holdings, which are located at only 700 to 750 metres above sea level, could represent a favourable site for a lithium extraction facility or a potash mine, as well as a potential location to create a regional lithium processing facility located less than a two-hour drive from Catamarca city.
Mr. Rotstein further commented: “Our initial emphasis will focus on developing our properties at Antofalla as it is a globally renowned lithium basin. Our claims in the Pipanaco salar, while only early-stage exploration, may prove to be strategic for a potential regional lithium processing facility located less than 50 km from Catamarca city. We believe this strongly positions the company as a lithium player in South America’s famed Lithium Triangle during an energy metals commodities bull cycle. Our growth will be accelerated by acquisitions within the lithium space.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Edison can acquire ReVe and a 100-per-cent interest in its properties for a purchase price of $1.85-million paid by the issuance of 10 million common shares of the company at a deemed price of 18.5 cents per share. The company will also pay a finder’s fee of $92,500 by the issuance of 500,000 common shares of the company at a deemed price of 18.5 cents per share.
All securities issued pursuant to the above transactions will be subject to a hold period of four months from the date of closing. The above transaction and payment of finders’ fees are subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.
Cautionary statement: Investors are cautioned that the above information and the information on the adjacent properties are taken from publicly available sources. The company has not been able to independently verify the information contained. The information is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the property, which is the subject of this news release. The company will need to conduct exploration to confirm historical mineralization reported on the property, and there is no guarantee that significant discovery will be made as a result of its exploration efforts.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Afzaal Pirzada, PGeo, a consultant of the company, an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
About Edison Cobalt Corp.
Edison is a Canadian-based junior mining exploration company focused on the procurement, exploration and development of cobalt, lithium and other energy metals. The company’s acquisition strategy focuses on acquiring affordable, cost-effective and highly regarded mineral properties in areas with proven geological potential. The company is looking to build a portfolio of quality assets capable of supplying critical materials to the battery industry. The company intends to capitalize on and have its shareholders benefit from the renewed interest in the battery metal space.
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