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‘Moving at breakneck speed’: Pantera swoops on more ground along North America’s emerging lithium-brine super highway
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- Pantera and partner Daytona Lithium increase Superbird project landholding by 12% to 9,440 acres
- Superbird is in Arkansas’ fast-emerging Smackover lithium precinct
- Maiden exploration targets due in ~6 weeks
Pantera Minerals and Daytona Lithium have increased the size of the Superbird project to 9,440 acres in Arkansas’ Smackover lithium precinct, the emerging “lithium capital of America”.
Arkansas and its brine-rich Smackover Formation – once, and still, a premium destination for oil and gas extraction – is being swooped in on by oil majors such as ExxonMobil, miners and explorers such as Pantera Minerals (ASX:PFE) to expand the region’s industrial-scale lithium endowment for direct lithium extraction (DLE).
Earlier this month, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee underlined her ambitions to make the State a leading hub for the development of North America’s battery supply chain, saying its government is “moving at breakneck speed to become the lithium capital of America.”
Superbird expansion
In August Pantera secured a 35% interest in Daytona Lithium . Since then, the two companies have increased the land position of Superbird by a massive 77%, from Daytona’s initial 5,325 acres up to 9,440 acres.
It’s also planning to add another 7,000 acres which are currently under negotiation.
The Superbird Project directly abuts ExxonMobil’s (NYSE:XON) 120,000 lithium brine project and is along trend from other big players Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI), Tetra Technologies (NYSE:TTI) and Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB).
Exxon is targeting 75,000-100,000tpa of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), while Standard Lithium expects first production in 2025 for an average of 5,400tpa LCE over a minimum 25-year operating life.
Tetra currently produces bromine out of its Magnolia project and is investing US$540m to build a DLE test facility in the region.
Exploration targets
Pantera’s Smackover partner Daytona has commissioned an independent group to generate a lithium exploration target from historical geological and petrophysical oil and gas production from within its project area.
Pantera says it would consider the opportunity to provide further funding to Daytona, or seek to increase its interest in the company in the future.
This article was developed in collaboration with Pantera, 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.
