Blaze Minerals caught fire last week, rocketing up 180 per cent after agreeing to buy a lithium project in Canada … lock, stock and barrel.
The company’s share price touched 2.8 cents after closing last week at one cent as it snared its piece of Ontario’s ‘Electric Avenue’. And just for clarity, that is not a reference to Guyanese-British singer and songwriter Eddy Grant’s 1983 hit of the same name, it is because of the size and quality of the metal used in batteries that is gleaned from the project’s area.
Blaze revealed last week that it had entered into a heads of agreement with Exiro Minerals Corporation to acquire 100 per cent of the North Spirit lithium project. The project comprises 1698 claims across about 340 square kilometres and sits just 30km along strike from Frontier Lithium’s world-class PAK and Spark operations.
Frontier has been turning heads recently after it landed an eye-watering intercept of 398m going 1.88 per cent lithium, containing 23m reading 3.12 per cent lithium.
The company is powering towards production having already chalked up mineral resources at its two projects. The PAK deposit hosts 7.2 million tonnes at 1.8 per cent lithium measured and indicated and a further 2.8 million tonnes at 2.22 per cent lithium inferred.
These numbers go some of the way towards explaining the excitement behind the Blaze’s purchase as it looks to spread its wings beyond its WA-based projects.
Interestingly, Blaze’s biggest shareholder is Great Southern Flour Mills, with a 9.25 per cent slice. That company was responsible for developing the century-old operation that features the iconic big red dingo overlooking the beautiful Western Australian coastline down in Fremantle. Canadian lithium created its own headlines last week when South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed a memorandum of understanding on critical mineral supply chains, the clean energy transition and energy security. They said it would help position the countries as “globally competitive players in areas including batteries and zero-emission vehicles”.
With Canadian lithium being a critical ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), that nation’s government is in the process of seeking to help producers and processors scale up production.
The South Korean industry ministry says the deal will also help its nation better cope with the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act. The act requires 40 per cent of the value of EV battery components to be sourced from the US, or a free-trade partner such as Canada, to gain a US$3750 (AU$5752) tax credit for electric vehicles within the US.
Other notable performers for the week included WA-based explorer BMG Resources, which leapt more than 84 per cent after hitting pegmatites during its drilling program in WA’s Eastern Goldfields. The move saw its stocks go from 1.3 cents to hit a high of 2.4.
Geelong-based high-end wheel manufacturer Carbon Revolution showed some of us that there is actually more to cars than what goes into its battery. The company, whose lightweight carbon fibre wheels are used on some of the world’s most sought-after cars, jumped 84 percent after establishing a $91 million debt facility to fund further expansion and automation. It’s share price went from 12.5 cents up to 23.
Market watchers might also have a close eye on battery metals chaser St George Mining this week after the company went on a run up to nearly 85 per cent prior to announcing a trading halt at the end of last week.
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