Arizona Lithium sells Big Sandy to focus on Prairie project

• AZL sells Big Sandy project in Arizona for US$5m to focus on Prairie
• Company says Canadian jurisdiction and Prairie’s advanced status key drivers
• Prairie recently approved for phase 1 direct lithium extraction

Special Report: Arizona Lithium is selling its Big Sandy lithium project to double down on its near-term Prairie lithium project in Canada.

Big Sandy is a competitive lithium sedimentary resource that could bring economic growth and development to the region and country, however the company says its location in Arizona’s complicated regulatory jurisdiction will likely take many years to fully navigate.

Instead, the project will be sold to Big Sandy Lithium, LLC and Advanced Lithium Research Centre, LLC for US$5m (~A$8m).

The parties are indirect subsidiaries of the company’s largest shareholder Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC).

Arizona Lithium (ASX:AZL) will invest the funds from the sale into the Prairie project, which is in development and much closer to production than Big Sandy.

The recent capital raising of around A$4.25m will also help fund development of the project, which was recently approved for phase 1 production using a commercial scale direct lithium extraction unit able to produce 150tpa.

More from AZL: Is DLE the gamechanger in lithium production?

Canada clears the way

The company says the development hurdles at Big Sandy its encountered over the past five years are in stark contrast to the expedited permitting and production opportunities of the Prairie project in Saskatchewan, Canada.

“This agreement is transformational for Arizona Lithium and the decision was not taken lightly by myself and the Board of Directors,” MD Paul Lloyd said.

“As a company we had two world-class assets – the Prairie lithium project and the Big Sandy lithium project.

“A company of our size is best placed focusing on and funding one key asset and the choice for us was a hard one, but an obvious one given the Prairie lithium project is deep into its development and years closer to first production.

“We look forward to creating shareholder value and wealth as a fully focused lithium development company.”

The sale of Big Sandy is not required to be subject to shareholder approval.

This article was developed in collaboration with Arizona Lithium, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.