European Energy Metals (TSXV: FIN) says it’s applied for five new exploration licences (ELs) that would significantly boosts its land holding next to Sibanye-Stillwater‘s (NYSE: SBSW; JSE: SSW) Keliber project in Finland.
The applications cover 102 sq. km. of geological terrane considered highly prospective for lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites in the Kaustinen region of central Finland. These would augment the company’s existing Nabba and Nabba 2 licences, bringing its total licensed holdings to 157.7 sq. km.
The new licences are largely contiguous with Sibanye-Stillwater’s Keliber, which hosts several LCT spodumene-pegmatite deposits with published resources of around 17 million tonnes grading 1% Li2O (lithium oxide).
Sibanye is currently building a complete lithium supply chain complex including a centrally located spodumene concentrator mill near Kaustinen, that will be fed by several different deposits.
The South African mining group, which is investing as much as €600 million in partnership with the Finnish Minerals Group on building the mining complex, is eyeing first production in the second half of 2025.
European Energy, which has a $6.4-million market cap and trades at 17¢ a share, noted that its licences are within 1 km of some of the known lithium-rich spodumene-pegmatite deposits at Keliber, and within 1 km from Sibanye’s proposed spodumene concentrator plant.
It’s conducting a field program to identify targets to drill later this year. The program serves as a follow-up on the 2023 exploration program, during which its team identified multiple occurrences of lithium-bearing pegmatite mineralization at the Nabba licence. The highlight was the discovery of the Kyrola prospect, an 850-metre-long by 110-metre-wide spodumene-bearing pegmatite boulder field where rock chip grab samples assayed up to 3.84% Li2O.
“The expansion of our exploration licences allowed for more significant exploration to test and define the subsurface extent of widespread mineralization identified on surface,” Jeremy Poirier, European Energy Metals’ CEO, said in a release.
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