Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M) has completed the acquisition of Bengal Mining which via its subsidiary Tigre Mineracao Ltda holds option agreements over the Caraíbas and Sidrônio lithium projects in the prolific Lithium Valley district in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.
The company considers that this acquisition may prove transformational as it provides a strong position in the Lithium Valley in proximity to Latin Resources’ Colina project hosting 70.9 million tonnes at 1.25% Li20 and Sigma Lithium’s Grota do Cirilo project with 108.9 million tonnes at 1.41% Li20.
Completion follows the satisfaction of all conditions precedent including receipt of shareholder approval at the company’s EGM on June 13, 2024, and the completion of tranche 2 capital raising.
Site visit
Managing director Alex Biggs is in Brazil visiting the projects and region as well as attending the Brazil Lithium Summit in Belo Horizonte. He will meet key stakeholders, contractors and business leaders to ensure the company is well-positioned in Brazil moving forward.
Biggs said, “Completion of the Bengal acquisition is a significant step forward for the company and we can now begin to focus our efforts on target generation across our Brazilian assets.
"Having spent time in Brazil over the past couple of weeks we really like what we see and the potential these projects present to the company.
“Setting up for success”
"To be positioned where we are in the region is a significant achievement for us. Couple that with our relationships in Brazil, the prospectivity of the projects we are setting ourselves up for success.
"We welcome new shareholders on board as part of the transaction and capital raising and look forward to the future as we begin our exploration in one of the world’s premier lithium regions.”
Next steps
Future work will focus on ground reconnaissance, geophysical drone survey works, drill target identification and drilling.
It is estimated that these works will occur over the next six months but are subject to change as the company gains further knowledge on the projects.
Initial indicators and impressions gathered from the site visit will continue to inform the company’s approach to exploration at Caraíbas and Sidrônio over the coming months but the strategy already developed is considered appropriate with a view to developing drill targets.
Caraíbas and Sidrônio project location, geology and tenements.
The projects are in the Eastern Brazilian Pegmatite Province that encompasses around 150,000 square kilometres, stretching from Bahia state to Rio de Janeiro state.
About Caraíbas
Caraíbas consists of five separate tenements covering 1,733 hectares and the project area contains a series of albite and muscovite rich pegmatites identified by Bengal’s initial reconnaissance works.
Aeromagnetic data shows the tenements are along regional structures and shear zones which are analogous to the trends present at Latin Resources’ Colina deposit, which is around 20 kilometres to the north in the same Salinas geological formation.
About Sidrônio
Sidrônio consists of two tenements covering 1,638 hectares, strategically located adjacent and along strike to the south from Caraíbas.
Aeromagnetic data shows the tenements are along similar interpreted structural trends that may potentially be conduits for mineralisation.
Both projects cover prospective Salinas Formation geology which is thought to provide adequate rheological conditions suitable for the emplacement of late hydrothermal fluids.
In similar geological settings, proximal to S-type granites, the Salinas Formation is known to host fertile lithium mineral-bearing pegmatites.