Galan Lithium has expanded its holdings near the world-class Greenbushes mine to 315 square kilometres after it received an exploration licence for a new tenement less than 30km south of the Western Australian lithium operation.
Adding more than 40sq km to its current Greenbushes South project, the company says its latest acquisition contains historical tin workings associated with lithium-bearing pegmatites. The exploration license has been granted for a five-year period up until February 2029.
The greater Greenbushes South project sits about 200km south of Perth and its tenements are located along the Donnybrook-Bridgetown Shear Zone, which is the same structure that hosts Talison Lithium’s celebrated 1.34-million-tonne per annum Greenbushes mine.
Galan has moved quickly to process previous airborne geophysical data to develop initial exploration targets at the newly-acquired site. It is now preparing a maiden field campaign for the second half of the year, which will include sampling and ground geophysics.
Management says its primary targets are historic tin workings in the Smithfield pegmatite area in the eastern portion of the tenement. The company believes the workings provide valuable geological insights and indicate potential spodumene mineralisation patterns within the region.
Tin and tantalum are often associated with lithium-bearing pegmatites and, poignantly, alluvial tins were the precursor to the Greenbushes Mine.
Galan Lithium managing director Juan Pablo Vargas de la Vega said: “The grant of this key exploration licence is an important pillar of Galan’s exploration and evaluation activities at Greenbushes South. The tenure is highly-prospective and its geological setting gives us the confidence to commence a maiden field campaign at the earliest opportunity.”
Back in December 2022, Galan revealed it had gained full control of the Greenbushes South project after sealing a $3 million purchase agreement with Lithium Australia for the remaining 20 per cent share of the operation. The transaction included $2 million in cash, $1 million worth of Galan shares and the provision of a first right of refusal to Lithium Australia for an offtake of up to 20 per cent of Galan’s share of lithium ferro phosphate from the project.
The project in WA’s South West region provides the company with an attractive counterpart to its rapidly-progressing, Argentine-based Hombre Muerto West brine project in South America’s illustrious “Lithium Triangle”. Just last month, Galan set the evaporation process in motion at Hombre Muerto West, with the earthworks and lining of its first pond officially complete.
Management is targeting first-phase lithium chloride production at the operation in the first half of next year and says launching its evaporation phase ticks off a significant infrastructure milestone towards that goal.
Proposed production at Hombre Muerto West has been separated into four specific phases, starting with 5400 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) next year. Phase-two production is targeting 21,000 tonnes a year in 2026, before a significant increase during the third phase to 40,000 tonnes per year by 2028.
The final stage is predicted to produce 60,000 tonnes per annum using lithium brine sourced from both Hombre Muerto West and Galan’s other Argentinian brine project in Candelas.
The official expansion of the Greenbushes South project adds another significant string to the company’s lithium bow, with a potential hard-rock lithium operation to complement its rapidly-building lithium brine production plans in Argentina.
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By Michael Philipps
