Si6 Metals will assume a more commanding role in its Brazilian critical minerals joint venture (JV) with Foxfire Metals after lifting its stake in the partnership to a 70 per cent interest in any future licences – up from its 50 per cent share in the existing 10 licences.
The amendment signifies Si6’s commitment to its already massive Brazilian ground-holding, which is prospective for rare earths and lithium and where it is drilling across three programs.
Under the terms of the new deal, Si6 will fund the expenditure incurred on applying for or acquiring any new ground through to a feasibility study, in accordance with the original JV agreement. The costs will form part of the $1million minimum expenditure commitment for the first 12 months of the JV.
Firefox – which has significant on-ground Brazilian geological expertise – will have the first right of refusal on any new turf.
Si6 Metals managing director Jim Malone said: “Our joint plan is to grow our presence in Brazil by expanding the current exploration portfolio and capitalising on Foxfire’s expertise and in-country knowledge to identify opportunities that usually require significant time and capital to achieve in Brazil”.
The company’s interest in Brazil is currently across four project areas – two in the State of Minas Gerais, just north of Rio de Janeiro, one in the Amazon near the border with Colombia and one in the Ceará region on the north-east coast.
In Minas Gerais, Si6 has its “Lithium Valley” tenements and its Caldrea rare earths project. Its Amazon turf holds the Apuí project, which is prospective for gold and rare earths, while the Ceará area holds the Pedra Brancha project, prospective for base metals, precious metals and platinum group elements (PGE).
Managment is currently putting down 20 auger holes at its Lithium Valley tenements to follow up on a 103 parts per million lithium hit in the north-east of the Padre Paraiso prospect area and a 710ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO) strike in the south-east. It says the area is well located near some major lithium discoveries including Sigma Lithium’s world-class Grota Do Cirilo project that sits 40km from Si6’s license.
Sigma is the major lithium player in the area, with its mammoth project boasting a high-confidence mineral reserve of 54.8 million tonnes at 1.44 per cent lithium oxide.
Si6’s auger program is running simultaneously with two clay-hosted rare earths drill campaigns currently taking place at its two Caldera projects at the Poços de Caldas alkaline complex in southern Minas Gerais.
The company made headlines in March this year with rare earths hits as high as 933ppm TREO from clays at Poços de Caldas, with an average of 24 per cent of the high-value magnetic rare earth oxides (MREO).
The drilling at Padre Paraiso comes on the back of Si6 taking on even more turf at Caldera, picking up an additional 54 square kilometres of rare earths-prospective ground in an area that borders Meteoric Resources’ massive Caldeira project. Caldeira has an inferred mineral resource of 409 million tonnes at 2626ppm TREO.
Si6’s Caldera project is also near Viridis Mining & Minerals’ Colossus project where that company has produced several impressive ionic-clay hits as high as 24,894ppm and 25,075ppm –which are some of the highest grades on the planet.
But can it be recovered? Well, Viridis released recoveries as high as 67 per cent in maiden bulk composite metallurgical testing of clays from Colossus, giving confidence to the downstream success case for getting Brazilian rare earths to market.
Si6 seems all-in to the Brazilian ground, with an already commanding land-holding that may well grow in the future.
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By Andrew Duffy
