Raiden locks in State Deed ahead of maiden lithium drilling at Andover South

The State Deed for Raiden’s Andover South project has been executed by the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) and tenement vendor
The regulatory process continues for the grant of the tenement
Upon the grant, a PoW will be prepared and submitted

Special report: Raiden Resources is one step closer to kicking off maiden diamond drilling at the Andover South project with heritage approvals in place and the State Deed for E47/4062 executed.

The path towards maiden drilling at Raiden Resources’ (ASX:RDN) Andover South project initially began in March after the company secured its first heritage survey with the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) over its priority lithium-bearing pegmatite targets on the Andover South tenements.

The heritage survey took place from March 25 over exploration licences E47/4061 and E47/4062 where notable sampling results returned up to 3.80% lithium oxide (Li2O), 3.64% Li2O and 2.97% Li2O.

RDN intends to focus its drilling activities on outcropping pegmatites that have been defined along a 4.2km strike as well as individual pegmatites up to 50m in width.

A second heritage survey was then locked in later that month for Andover North over areas interpreted to be underlain by the Andover complex ultramafic rock, the same structure that hosts the prolific Andover lithium project, formerly owned by Azure Minerals.

With the final heritage survey in hand two months later, RDN could finally begin to lay the groundwork for its drilling campaigns across all Andover permits.

Timeline of approvals

Now, with the State Deed for Andover South (E47/4062) executed between the tenement vendor and NAC, RDN has a firm timeline to begin drilling activities.

Preliminary discussions with the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) suggest the tenement grant could take three to five weeks, however the explorer cautions investors that the file is going through the review process and the timeframe may be subject to change.

Upon the grant of E47/4062, management will immediately submit a prepared and vetted Programme of Work (PoW), which is expected to be granted within three weeks of submission.

Once RDN has been granted the tenement, a transfer between Welcome Exploration and Raiden for an 80% interest in tenements adjoining the Andover project (now jointly owned by SQM and Hancock Prospecting) will then occur.

Drilling contractors ready for deployment

“With heritage approvals in place and the State Deed for E47/4062 now executed between the tenement vendor and NAC, management is pleased to announce an expected timeline to begin maiden drilling,” RDN managing director Dusko Ljubojevic says.

“Remaining steps for this major milestone now follow the grant of the tenement and target timeframes set by DEMIRS for approval of the PoW.

“Earthmoving and drilling contractors are ready for deployment immediately pending PoW approval.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Raiden Resources, 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.