Canada-based Orosur Mining Inc. has announced entry into Nigeria’s lithium market, with a joint venture agreement with a Nigerian firm for lithium exploration.
Orosur Mining Inc., a South American-focused gold producer, developer and explorer, signed a joint venture with Nigerian company Jurassic Mines Ltd. Under the deal, Orosur’s subsidiary Lithium West Ltd will spend $5 million in return for a projected 70% equity within five years.
The company will work on four exploration licences and a team of geologists is in place already in Nigeria with all necessary equipment and logistical support to start exploration immediately, it said.
“Nigeria, however, is rapidly emerging as one of the most prospective regions of Africa for the discovery of lithium.”
“Orosur has been examining entry into the lithium space for several years, but as with our other projects, we have pursued an early stage, low entry cost strategy, based upon detailed geological understanding of the local mineralising systems,” Orosur CEO Brad George said.
“Nigeria is clearly on a different continent, but with the extensive Nigerian experience of myself and our Chairman Louis Castro, together with our partner’s excellent local team, we are entirely confident in our ability to develop this exciting opportunity in Nigeria in harmony with our equally exciting South American assets which we will continue to progress as planned.”
Shares in the UK-listed firm rose 5.8% on the news in early trading on Monday.
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Nigeria has long been known to have substantial potential for pegmatite, a form of rock that can contain lithium, tin, tantalum and niobium. These pegmatites were for years largely exploited at the artisanal level for mostly niobium and tantalum.
In early 2018, the government’s expansive found substantial lithium pegmatite potential, especially in the southern Nigeria.
As a result, Nigeria has seen a surge in both small-scale artisanal lithium mining and modern exploration by international companies over the past year.
Orosur said it began to examine opportunities in Nigeria in mid-2022, focusing on regional geological assessment and land selection, leading to this current JV with Jurassic.
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