Lithium hungry miner Hancock cornerstones Future Battery Minerals’ $7.6m raise

Hancock Prospecting joins FBM register, cornerstones $7.6m placement
Proceeds will accelerate exploration at Kangaroo Hills and the Nevada lithium projects
Extensive drill programs to deliver plenty of news flow

Investors – including Hancock Prospecting – have demonstrated their support for Future Battery Minerals’ accelerated exploration plans at its Kangaroo Hills and Nevada lithium projects by strongly backing its $7.6m placement.

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is one of the majors currently jostling for control of prospective lithium resources, both here and overseas.

It apparently likes what it sees at Future Battery Minerals’ (ASX:FBM) Kangaroo Hills project – just 17km south of Coolgardie and 30km from Mineral Resources’ (ASX:MIN) Mt Marion lithium mine – which has potential to host a lithium deposit of both scale and tonnage.

Its Nevada lithium project also has plenty of promise.

FBM has now received firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors for a two-tranche placement of shares priced at 10c to raise $7.6m.

Notably, Hancock has agreed to participate as a cornerstone investor by paying $2.65m across the two tranches of the placement.

Directors in the company have also demonstrated their confidence by subscribing for $225,000 worth of shares, subject to shareholder approval.

“We are extremely pleased with the strong support received from both new and existing professional, sophisticated and institutional investors, and we welcome Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd to our register,” FBM executive chairman Mike Edwards said.

“The strongly oversubscribed placement not only confirms the quality of our projects but is also validation to the experience and track record of our dedicated teams in WA and Nevada.”

What’s so special about FBM?

Kangaroo Hills was deemed a separate project from the Nepean nickel project in late 2022 after Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM) – then known as Auroch Minerals – discovered spodumene mineralisation within lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites during regional exploration drilling.

Subsequent exploration – including two rounds of drilling totalling 6,000m over 47 holes that returned hits of up to 29m @ 1.36% Li2O from 38m – led to the identification of the Big Red prospect as an outcropping shallow north dipping pegmatite.

More recently, the intersection of new pegmatites from the Phase 3 reverse circulation and diamond drilling programs at the Rocky prospect led to the company more than doubling the planned coverage of the Phase 3 drill program with the addition of more than 6,000m of RC drilling to test the Rocky, Wallaroo and Eastern Grey prospects.

Meanwhile, the Nevada project (NLP) shares the same mineralisation formation as other notable projects in the region such as Ioneer Resources’ (ASX:INR) Rhyolite Ridge and American Lithium Corporation’s (TSX-V:LI) TLC projects.

This prospectivity has been more than proven by the company’s Phase 2 drilling, which delivered hits such as 179.8m at 766 parts per million (ppm) lithium from just 39.6m and 170m at 764ppm lithium from 67.1m.

Phase 2 drilling has also highlighted a 3km by 2km mineralised footprint at the NLP with a further 2km of prospective strike open to the south.

Placement to push exploration into overdrive

Proceeds from the placement will be used to accelerate exploration at Kangaroo Hills and advance Phase 3 exploration drilling at the NLP, which is due to start late September.

At Kangaroo Hills, the company plans to complete the Phase 3 reverse circulation drill program, which has already seen 7,000m completed to date.

Diamond drilling to test regional targets at the Big Red and Rocky prospects is also ongoing whilst metallurgical and mineralogical assessment on core samples is continuing with initial results expected in October 2023.

Other work being carried out includes ground gravity and resistivity geophysical surveys as well as baseline environmental studies, which are expected to be completed in November 2023.

At the NLP, Phase 3 RC and diamond drilling targeting the Lone Mountain prospect will kick off soon.

FBM expects to deliver a maiden resource estimate for Lone Mountain in the first quarter of 2024 and will carry out initial metallurgical test work.

“We now look forward to continuing our exciting journey in the knowledge we are fully funded to accelerate exploration and development at both the Kangaroo Hills and Nevada Lithium projects,” Edwards says.

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.