lithium mining

Commodities developer Savannah Resources has said it will become the sole owner of Portugal’s Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal through an all-share offer valued at around US$11.9 million.

The UK-based developer, which already owns 75% of the project, said full ownership would “provide greater exposure of Europe’s most significant spodumene lithium deposit” as it’s developed and commercialised.

Savannah’s CEO David Archer (pictured) said the move was being made at a time when “legislators and battery end users in the region have come to appreciate the need for Europe to have domestic sources of battery raw materials as the region seeks to reduce emissions from the transport sector via the transition to electric vehicles (EVs)”.

Australia-listed mining firm AVZ Minerals has announced a “potentially massive” new lithium deposit discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo to shore up moves to supply electric vehicle battery makers in China.

MD Nigel Ferguson said the discovery confirms Carriere de l’Este “as a significant lithium deposit to potentially exceed” AVZ’s nearby Roche Dure deposit in the Manono project— 500 kilometres north of Lubumbashi in the south of the country.

AVZ said initial drilling at Carriere de l’Este “confirms widespread, high-grade spodumene lithium mineralisation over thick intersections”.

US chemicals company Albermarle has signed an exclusivity agreement to create a potential lithium joint venture in Western Australia.

Albemarle said the agreement with Mineral Resources Limited (MRL) could lead to the creation of a 50-50 joint venture to own and operate the Wodgina hard rock lithium mine in the state’s Pilbara region— and “ultimately develop an integrated lithium hydroxide operation at the site”.