Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT) Exclusive Option to Evaluate US Oilfield Brine Opportunity

Highlights
• Neometals Ltd and its partner, Omaha Value, Inc., have entered into an exclusivity and option agreement with American Helium LLC and Ascent Resources plc, to acquire access and use rights to inactive oil and gas wells, leases and geological data in the Paradox Basin, located in Utah, United States;
• The proposed access and use rights will allow Neometals and Omaha Value to explore for, and potentially extract and produce lithium, potash (potassium) and associated products from the brine;
• The agreement gives Neometals and Omaha Value a 60‑day exclusivity period to undertake due diligence and negotiate a definitive access and use licence; and
• Utilising the existing wells is expected to significantly accelerate and lower the cost of exploration and evaluation of Omaha Value’s 47,000 acres of tenure applications in the Paradox Basin.

Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT) (“Neometals” or “the Company”), is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Neometals Energy Pty Ltd (Neometals Energy), has executed an exclusivity and option agreement together with its US partner, Omaha Value, Inc. (Omaha Value) with American Helium LLC, a private US company holding gas and helium interests (American Helium) and Ascent Resources plc (LSE:AST), an independent oil and gas exploration and production company (Ascent), giving Neometals Energy an option to secure access and usage rights over a portfolio of historical oil and gas wells in the Paradox Basin of Utah, USA (Option Agreement).

Under the Option Agreement, Neometals Energy and Omaha Value have been granted a 60-day exclusivity period (extendable by mutual agreement) to complete due diligence and determine whether they wish to exercise an option to enter a definitive access and use licence agreement (Access and Use Licence). The Access and Use Licence, if executed, would give Neometals Energy and Omaha Value access to the existing leases and wells of American Helium and Ascent for the sampling and potential commercial extraction of brines from deep, artesian reservoirs. In accessing existing well bores, Neometals and Omaha Value aim to confirm the brine chemistry of historic intersections of thick evaporite (salt) sequences and permeable clastics, hosting critical mineral rich (lithium/potassium) brines.

Omaha Value is a privately held company based in Omaha, Nebraska and through its subsidiary Utah Brine Corporation LLC (UBC), holds potash prospecting permit applications over approximately 47,000 acres in the Lisbon Valley area of the Paradox Basin (the “Utah Brine Project”). Omaha Value and Neometals are advancing discussions relating to the commercialisation of critical mineral-bearing brines in Utah, which was recently ranked above Western Australia for mining investment attractiveness by the Fraser Institute.

Potash has been added to the draft 2025 List of Critical Minerals (which also includes lithium) by the US Government Department of the Interior, enabling eligible projects to benefit from expedited permitting and access to substantial federal funding.

American Helium and Ascent Resources hold significant oil and gas leases (Covered Acreage) in Utah managed by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), which are adjacent to the Lisbon Valley natural gas processing plant.

Consideration and Key Terms - Option Agreement
An exclusivity fee of US$50,000 (US$25,500 Neometals Energy share) in aggregate is payable within five business days of execution of the Option Agreement. During the exclusivity period, customary no-shop, notalk and no due-diligence restrictions will apply to American Helium and Ascent. American Helium and Ascent must also maintain all leases, permits, and operating authorisations in good standing and share all regulatory communications with Neometals Energy. 

The parties have commenced preparation of the definitive Access and Use Licence which must be finalised in good faith and on terms that do not materially depart from the following indicative key commercial terms and other customary terms for an agreement of this nature.

Neometals Managing Director Christopher Reed said:
“Neometals has a long history in lithium — from the development of a globally significant spodumene project, to advancing innovative lithium processing technologies like the ELi Process^TM.

This agreement represents an exciting opportunity to apply our downstream domain expertise in the Paradox Basin, leveraging existing well, pipeline and energy infrastructure to accelerate the evaluation of lithium and potassium potential in Utah, one of the top ranked jurisdictions worldwide for mining investment.”

To read the full announcement, please click here

About Neometals

Neometals’ purpose is to deliver stakeholder value by enabling the sustainable production of critical and valuable materials essential for a cleaner future. The Company is commercialising a portfolio of low-cost sustainable processing solutions for critical materials in parallel with the exploration and development of mining operations at its Barrambie Gold Project.

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