Zinnwald subsidiary awarded lithium exploration licence in Saxony

The AIM-traded firm said the Sadisdorf licence had the potential to provide additional resource upside to its advanced Zinnwald Lithium Project, and was in line with its strategy to become an “important supplier” to Europe's “fast-growing” lithium sector.

It said the licence, which had been historically mined for tin and copper and included a “significant” lithium resource, further increased Deutsche Lithium's resource base, and potentially the lifetime of the planned mine and mineral processing operations.

Historical exploration work at Sadisdorf by previous licence holders resulted in a 2017 historic JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource of 25 million tons, with an average grade of 0.45% lithium oxide.

Zinnwald said its strategy was to advance the Sadisdorf licence, and evaluate the viability of combining resources with the Zinnwald project.

The company said it was continuing to advance other key work streams on the project in Germany, so as to capitalise on “strong” market conditions.

“The Sadisdorf licence is an excellent addition to the company which, following further work we will undertake in due course, has the potential to increase the resource base and lifetime of the planned mine and mineral processing facilities related to our project,” said chief executive officer Anton du Plessis.

“Given that the lithium-ion battery is most likely to lead the electric vehicle transition, we are ideally positioned to contribute to this fast-evolving market with an advanced asset in the centre of Europe.”

At 1007 BST, shares in Zinnwald Lithium were down 2.78% at 11.67p.