Chariot soars after clearing key hurdle for Nigerian lithium portfolio
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Andrew Todd
Chariot Resources rose as much as 55 percent to a high of 15 cents in early trading after the government approved the transfer of six licenses to a joint venture with local partners, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the Nigerian lithium portfolio.
The approvals include four exploration licenses and two small-scale mining leases previously owned by Continental Lithium, which will now be incorporated into a new company called C&C Minerals.
The company says only routine administrative steps remain to complete the transfers, which will allow Chariot and its partner to move directly into active field programs on projects.
Chariot will own 66.66 percent of C&C Minerals, while local partners Continental Lithium will retain 33.33 percent.
‘These approvals move us from transaction execution to field execution.’
Shanthar Pathmanathan, chairman and chief executive of Chariot Resources
Chariot says it will now move quickly to systematically verify drilling targets at the site to ensure rods return to largely undrilled ground as quickly as possible.
The company says the ground already carries a documented history of artisanal production and represents the first time the ASX-listed pure lithium company will drill for lithium in Nigeria.
Shanthar Pathmanathan, chairman and managing director of Chariot Resources, said: “These approvals move us from transaction execution to field execution. We will now accelerate modern exploration to generate technical data and drill down to targets across an already promising, yet undetailed portfolio through documented artisanal production activity.”
The joint venture’s 254 square kilometer portfolio covers four project clusters named Fonlo, Gbugbu, Iganna and Saki in Oyo and Kwara states of Nigeria.
Historical small-scale mining activity is clearly visible in some parts of the ground; However, the company is keen to emphasize that hand-sorting spodumene by local miners is one thing, proving that a suitable resource or reserve exists is quite another, and that artisanal pits are not the same as economic-scale orebodies.
The licensing approvals dovetail well with Chariot’s two-pronged strategy to accelerate modern discoveries, while keeping the path open to early small-scale production funded by sales partners.
The company says it is also advancing its projects in the USA. Initial exploration results showed high-grade lithium mineralization at surface at the hard rock Black Mountain project in Wyoming and the claystone hosted Resurgent project in Nevada.
With the regulatory pathway now clear, field work about to begin and acquisition and financing discussions already underway, Nigerian assets are poised to quickly move from paperwork to drilling, marking the first lithium discovery by an ASX-listed company in the African country.
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