Piedmont subscribes for a number of shares in Vinland Lithium as would equal a 19.9% voting and participating interest therein for a subscription price of C$2 million.
Piedmont Lithium Partners with Vinland Lithium. (Credit: Zac Edmonds on Unsplash)
Piedmont Lithium Inc. (“Piedmont” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: PLL; ASX: PLL), a leading global supplier of lithium resources critical to the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain, today announced a strategic investment in a large prospective lithium project in Newfoundland, Canada. Piedmont has agreed to pay C$2 million for a 19.9% equity interest in Vinland Lithium Inc. (“Vinland Lithium”), a new entity established with Sokoman Minerals Corp. (“Sokoman Minerals”) (40.1%) and Benton Resources Inc. (“Benton Resources”) (40.1%). The Company also may earn up to a 62.5% equity interest in Killick Lithium Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vinland Lithium holding a 100% interest in the Killick Lithium Project (“Killick Lithium” or the “Project”), through a staged investment agreement. Piedmont will be entitled to 100% marketing rights and a right of first refusal on 100% offtake rights to any lithium concentrate produced by the Project on a life-of-mine basis at competitive commercial rates. Transaction details are provided below.
Geologically, the Killick Lithium property is analogous to the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, which hosts Piedmont’s Carolina Lithium project. The property totals 950 square kilometers and hosts approximately 60 kilometers of prospective strike length. Initial prospecting on the property by Benton Resources and Sokoman Minerals in 2021 led to the discovery of the first occurrence of spodumene-bearing pegmatite in Newfoundland.
According to their data, the work to date of Benton Resources and Sokoman Minerals includes 61 exploratory drill holes, 50 of which intersected spodumene-bearing pegmatites. Mineralization in surface trenching and drilling has now been identified over a strike length of 2.5 kilometers. These early drilling results include multiple intercepts over 1.0% Li2O and demonstrate the potential for additional discoveries within the property. Their exploration work in 2023 has identified numerous soil and geophysical anomalies, highlighting high-priority drill targets. The property features excellent infrastructure with close proximity to paved roadways, an electrical substation, and an ice-free, deepwater port.
Patrick Brindle, Chief Operating Officer for Piedmont Lithium, said the partnership supports the Company’s strategy to grow its hard rock lithium resource base with a focus on large targets in attractive locations and furthers Piedmont’s plans to be a major producer of lithium hydroxide for the North American market. “The Killick Lithium Project comprises a vast land package in an attractive jurisdiction. Our team has visited the site on multiple occasions and conducted extensive due diligence. Early exploration results are favorable, and the Project’s location is advantageous in terms of infrastructure and logistics,” said Brindle. “The Vinland Lithium exploration team is highly experienced and will manage all aspects of the exploration program. While we help fund exploration activities at Killick Lithium, our projects and operations teams remain focused on the ongoing development of our core portfolio, including the producing North American Lithium mine in Quebec and our planned operations in Ghana, Tennessee, and North Carolina.”
Source: Company Press Release