Rare Earth Minerals investment enters new farm-in agreement

Rare Earth Minerals reported on Wednesday that Macarthur Minerals, in which it owns a 15.5% shareholding, has entered into a new conditional farm-in agreement.

The AIM-traded company said that Macarthur has agreed to enter into a conditional, binding memorandum of understanding for a Canadian lithium company to farm in, for an initial 51% interest in Macarthur’s Australian lithium acreage at Ravensthorpe, for a minimum expenditure of AUD 2m.

It said the acreage at Ravensthorpe covers an area of 91 square kilometres.

“Macarthur Minerals continues to make rapid progress on the Ravensthorpe acreage,” said Rare Earth Minerals chief executive Kiran Morzaria.

“The farm-in is the latest evidence of that.”

The Ravensthorpe acreage, at its closest point, is approximately 7 kilometres from the Mount Cattlin Lithium Project, which is currently mining and processing spodumene and tantalum concentrate near Ravensthorpe in south Western Australia.

Rare Earth Minerals said Mount Cattlin currently has targeted production of approximately 150,000 tonnes for 2017.