Venari Minerals NL (ASX: VMS) (“Venari”, “the Company” or “VMS”) is pleased to advise that it has entered into a binding Option Agreement (“Agreement”) to secure a private property and associated water rights proximal to its 100%-owned Red Mountain Lithium Project in Nevada, USA.
Securing water access is a critical element in de-risking the development pathway for a mining project, particularly in the arid desert environment of Nevada – one of the driest states in the US. Water rights are valuable assets, which often appreciate in value as a function of increasing demand and limited supply. As such, this strategic transaction represents a major milestone towards the Red Mountain Project’s potential future development, providing a cost-efficient means to secure water access in a region of water scarcity and high competition.
About the acquisition
The subject of the Option is a 45.7Ha (113-acre) lot of private land, 252 Bergara Avenue, Railroad Valley, and attached water rights totalling 592,000m3 (480 acre-feet) per annum. The property is located less than 6km from the Red Mountain Project in the Railroad Valley (Figure 1). Subject to approval from the State of Nevada, the water rights may be re-located from the property to even closer to the Red Mountain Project, provided they remain within the designated Railroad Valley Basin extents.
Transaction terms
The transaction has been negotiated on favourable terms with theCompany agreeing to pay the Vendor, American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ: ABAT, “ABTC”), a total of US$400,000 as follows:
• An Option fee of 1.950m VMS shares, equivalent to approximately US$190,000 based on a VMS share price of AUD$0.15; and
• A cash payment of US$210,000 (A$323,000 based on an assumed forward exchange rate of US$ = AUD$0.65) payable on exercise of the option. Venari has 12 months in which to exercise the Option (at its election). The actual date to complete the transaction is no later than 11:00pm Pacific Time 7 December 2026.
The Agreement contains a pre-agreed Sale and Purchase Agreement. Customary warranties and terms have been negotiated for both the Agreement and the pre-agreed Sale and Purchase Agreement.
Venari Chairman, Tony Leibowitz, said:
“The Company continues to rapidly de-risk multiple facets of the Red Mountain Lithium Project, with metallurgical testwork for a lithium battery product underway, a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate to be completed early in the coming quarter, and now substantial water rights secured by this Option Agreement. Collectively, these work programs position the Red Mountain Project to move to the next level.
“Additionally, ABTC’s agreement to receive a substantial portion of the acquisition consideration in Venari shares represents a strong endorsement of the Company’s investment proposition.”
To read the announcement, please click here
About us:
Venari Minerals NL
Venari Minerals is a diversified ASX-listed exploration company driven to create value through discovering and developing deposits of critical and precious metals in the renowned mining jurisdiction of Nevada, with a principal focus on lithium, gold and silver.
The Company is focused on rapidly advancing its recent Red Mountain Lithium Discovery, located in the battery metals capital of the US, Nevada, and exploring for a world-class epithermal gold-silver discovery at its Needles Project, also in Nevada.
Contact details:
Matt Healy
Executive Director & CEO
[email protected]
+61 (0) 431 683 952
Nicholas Read
Media & Investor Relations
[email protected]
+61 (0) 419 929 046