Azimut-Rio Tinto’s Quebec lithium exploration deal a ‘benchmark’, says Lulin

Azimut Exploration (TSXV: AZM) has recently signed two option-to-joint venture deals with a division of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO; LSE: RIO; ASX: RIO) called Rio Tinto Exploration Canada involving Azimut’s Corvet and Kaanaayaa lithium properties in Quebec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay region.

The total value of the agreements is expected to reach up to $115.7 million, including expenditures and cash payments. The key terms of the deals include funding the expenditures and making cash payments to reach specific milestones. Rio Tinto can increase its stake in the properties upon meeting these conditions.

“The deal today is a benchmark not only for this property but also for the other properties we have acquired,” Azimut president and CEO Jean-Marc Lulin tells The Northern Miner. “We try to manage the best way possible a large portfolio generated through systematic data processing.”

Rio Tinto will have the opportunity to acquire an initial 50% interest in each property over four years. This can be achieved by funding $7 million in exploration expenditures and making cash payments totalling $850,000 per property. Azimut will be the operator during this initial option phase.

 

The exploration and payments will start once wildfire restrictions in Quebec are lifted.

Rio Tinto can earn an additional 20% interest over five years by carrying out further work expenditures of $50 million per property, with Rio Tinto acting as the operator during this second option phase.

Azimut retains the right to be funded to production by granting Rio Tinto an additional 5% interest in the properties, bringing Rio Tinto’s total interest to 75%.

The exploration programs will mainly focus on identifying lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites, but the properties also show potential for intrusion-related gold-copper and magmatic nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization.

The agreements are subject to regulatory approvals by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Azimut is advancing its lithium portfolio through various avenues, including option and joint venture agreements with Rio Tinto and SOQUEM and its self-funded program on the James Bay Lithium property.

In March, two activist shareholders with ‘substantial’ holdings in Azimut accused the junior of “squatting” on some of Quebec’s most prospective lithium lands.

Coloured Ties Capital (TSXV: TIE) and privately held Bullrun Capital at the time issued public communications to Lulin, accusing the geologist of refusing to acknowledge or engage with them about its detailed exploration plans for the James Bay lithium portfolio.

The activists were turning up the heat on Lulin and Azimut after the Corvette lithium discovery by Patriot Battery Metals (TSXV: PMET; ASX: PMT) and the Adina discovery of Winsome Resources. Patriot aims to publish the first resource on Corvette this month.

Lulin says he wouldn’t be drawn to comment on the matter, instead noting he and his team have remained focused on keeping their heads down and advancing technical work. “We stay focused on creating true value for the shareholders, developing new exploration ideas,” he says. “We believe that the best way to address the uncertainty in exploration is to put your chance on the technical side.”

Azimuth shares are up 41% over the past 12 months at $1.27, having touched 49¢-$1.80, giving it a market capitalization of $101.5 million.