Future Battery Minerals collects $4m on lithium sale

Future Battery Minerals completes sale of stake in Nevada lithium project
Company now has a strong cash balance of $8.14 million and zero debt
Exploration planned to kick off at the Miriam project next year

Special Report: Future Battery Minerals has completed the sale of its 80% stake in the Nevada lithium project for $4m cash.

Lithium prices are at their lowest since 2021 in the wake of a flood of new supply and softening demand growth from the EV sector – but explorers like Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM) are kicking on with the job at hand.

The company says disposal of the NLP allows sharpened focus on its Coolgardie projects, the Kangaroo Hills lithium project and Miriam lithium project, in WA’s Goldfields.

“We are delighted to have rapidly completed the sale of our interest in the NLP,” FBM managing director Nicholas Rathjen said.

“The disposal of this non-core asset has provided us with a significant increase in cash at zero dilution to our shareholders.

“Following receipt of the $4 million sale proceeds, we now hold a current cash balance of $8.14 million.

“This positions the business with a substantial runway for targeted and efficient exploration of the KHLP and Miriam projects over the next couple of years, as well as a robust position from which to explore new business development opportunities.

“We strongly believe that focussing on our highly prospective lithium assets in the W.A. Goldfields will generate strong long-term returns for our shareholders.”

Belt-scale prospectivity in Coolgardie

Both the Kangaroo Hills and Miriam areas have attractive near-surface, shallow dipping, thick, spodumene bearing lithium pegmatites.

Rathjen says the Coolgardie lithium projects present a compelling opportunity, covering 11km of the Coolgardie greenstone belt, highlighting a belt-scale lithium exploration opportunity for the company.

“This is a proven mineral system containing near-surface, thick, high-grade, shallow dipping, stacked spodumene pegmatites near world-class infrastructure and operating process plants,” he said.

“The potential for an open pit mining operation with a low relative operating cost curve position presents clearly.

“Moreover, the sheer upside prospectivity of KHLP and Miriam, coupled with the exploration, development and operating track record of our Australian-based team, highlights the scale of the opportunity in front of us in Western Australia.

“With both the KHLP and Miriam permitted to undertake drilling, and in light of our increased cash balance, we are currently reviewing our exploration programs with a view to accelerating activities on our Coolgardie Lithium Projects into 2025.”

Untapped tenure at Miriam

Immediately north of Kangaroo Hills, the Miriam project hosts high-grade spodumene-bearing pegmatites where rock chip samples returned up to 2% Li2O.

Ground gravity geophysical surveys are scheduled to commence this quarter. This low-cost survey work can greatly improve drill hole targeting, particularly around planned drill hole depth and direction, as well as de-risk initial exploration drilling activities.

The initial drill program at Miriam is scheduled for H1 2025 and will target the +1.5km soil anomaly at the southern end of the project tenure, which correlates with both spodumene outcrops and key geophysical targets.

“We look forward to commencing drilling at the recently acquired and effectively untapped Miriam ground,” Rathjen said.

“The prospectivity of this tenure is undeniably promising and we continue to work-up our target pipeline in preparation for the drilling of initial high-priority zones in H1 2025.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Future Battery Minerals, 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.