Delta Lithium Limited, a company chaired by mining billionaire Chris Ellison, has announced a maiden gold resource estimate at its Mt Ida project in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. The company said that 85 percent of the gold resource, which amounts to 412,000 ounces, is co-located with its lithium resource, which could provide additional revenue for its planned lithium operation.
Delta Lithium is focused on developing its Mt Ida lithium project, which is expected to start mining by the end of 2023. The project has a lithium resource of 1.6 million tonnes at 1.2 percent lithium oxide and is located near the border of Hancock Prospecting’s lithium exploration joint venture with an Indian-owned group.
The company said that the gold resource was a “tremendous” value add to the lithium project and would conduct further metallurgical work and explore downstream processing options for the gold mineralization. It also said that it would continue to assess opportunities to increase its lithium portfolio by identifying and acquiring new potential lithium assets.
The announcement comes amid a surge in demand and prices for lithium and gold, driven by the global transition to green energy and the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lithium is a key component of batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, while gold is seen as a safe haven asset and a hedge against inflation.
According to GlobalData, Australia is the world’s largest producer of lithium, accounting for 53 percent of the global supply in 2023. The country also has the second largest lithium reserves in the world, after Chile. Australia is also one of the top gold producers in the world, with an output of 326 tonnes in 2023.
Delta Lithium’s shares rose by 3 percent on Tuesday to trade at 68 cents each. The company has a market capitalization of almost $24 billion Australian dollars.
Source: The West Australian
