The difference now is – Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) is Ready!

Una puerta está cerrada, pero mil están abiertas is a famous Argentinean proverb which means; one door is shut, but a thousand are open!

The land of Andes has created unparallel shareholder wealth for number of Australian companies, and this time, the lithium brines of South America is opening multiple doors for Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) and its shareholders.

Pursuit is ready and, under the new leadership of Chief Executive Aaron Revelle, is putting a mark on the Argentinian lithium landscape.

The Argentinian lithium brine portfolio made from the fertile territory of Salar de Rio Grande the Pursuit team has pulled together is certainly impressive. Mito is highly prospective ground with an 8,660 hectares option exercised in Feb 2023. Maria Magdalena, with its biblical name, is a modest 73 hectares, but makes up the upside through its sheer location and material high grade brine discovery at neighbouring Noa Lithium, with Lithium grades between 750-900mg/L.

Drillhole locations by previous explorers in the Rio Grande salar

The Rio Grande Salar was first drilled in 2011 by ADY Resources and LSC acquired the majority of its Salar de Rio Grande tenements in 2016. ADY and predecessor companies successfully produced sodium sulphate from high production brine wells for many years, with the last production being in 2014. 

A Key milestone of Technical Report NI 43-101 was achieved in March 2018, publishing a Total Inferred Resource of 2.19Mt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 370mg/Li.

We believe given the resource (NI 43-101) is already in place, it makes this project a lot more advanced and de-risked than any other greenfield opportunities in the lithium triangle.  

Pursuit Competitive Advantage & Game Plan: 

Pursuit Minerals has clearly distinguished itself from its peers by acquiring a lithium carbonate pilot plant capable of producing 100 tonnes per day. The pilot plant was originally constructed in 2013 at a cost of ~US$3.6M and Pursuit has acquired this strategic asset at US$365k, providing a unique competitive advantage. 

Competitive advantage:

• Lithium carbonate plant refurbishment. 
• Plant chemical engineering and block flow process validation. 
• Brines testing. 

 Game Plan

• Completion of TEM & CSAMT survey. This will assist in drill target identification. 
• Drill target location. 
• Permit approvals and drilling. 

These activities are relatively straight forward but require strong coordination to achieve timely milestones and deliverables. One of the key outliers is funding requirement, which our analysis suggest, Pursuit may require additional cash before drilling commencement. 

Pursuit Mineral has highlighted, it is planning to progress to definitive feasibility study quickly post drilling by incorporating drilling results and announcing JORC compliant resource estimate.  

In addition, Pursuit is committed to produce battery grade lithium carbonate from Salar de Rio Grande Brines, with initial focus at Maria Magdalena and Mito. There is a likely chance Pursuit may consider improving the process flow of Lithium Carbonate plant by testing brines from neighbouring properties. 

Timeline 

Aaron Revelle and the Pursuit Minerals team are well equipped to achieve the JORC milestones. However, given the harsh terrain of Andes and availability of contractors, there may be some slippage of achieving time–critical milestones. 

Resource Upside 

Pursuit’s market cap is currently ~A$36M. With a JORC resource in place over the next few months, valuation may increase and can potentially match its peers to above A$250 million market cap, which is around 7x increase from current level. 

Vamos Argentina! is another famous phrase for La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue) and one now cheered by Australians as ASX-listed companies make their mark on the lithium-endowed brines of the Americas.

Grade, tonnage and market caps

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