Australian mining company MetalsTech has agreed to acquire a 100% interest in the Sauvolles lithium project in Quebec, Canada.

Covering nearly 300km², the Sauvolles lithium project is situated in James Bay Lithium District, on the highly prospective west-trending Lac Guyer Greenstone Belt that hosts Winsome Resources’ Adina lithium project. Adina is claimed to have intersected 107.6m at 1.34% lithium oxide (Li₂O).

This project includes 558 mineral claims. MetalsTech planned to acquire the project because it included hard-rock, pegmatite-hosted lithium mineralisation.

The company agreed to pay the sellers an upfront cash amount of A$280,000 ($178,382). It will also issue 2.5 million shares subject to 12 months of voluntary escrow and three million shares subject to a two-year escrow.

The Sauvolles West project area is claimed to be a high-priority target due to the presence of different geological types such as greenstone units, tonalite, granite and amphibolite. Several mapped pegmatites were also identified within the Sauvolles West project area.

The tonalite rock type contains lithium, 34km along strike west in the same stratigraphic sequence and location hosting the Adina project. Other samples also show highly anomalous mineralisation, including tin, tantalum, caesium and rubidium.

MetalsTech director Gino D’Anna said: “Our successful acquisition of the Sauvolles lithium project represents a significant milestone for MetalsTech. Multiple mapped pegmatites, existing anomalous lithium samples, and favourable indicator mineralogy, all within close proximity to Winsome’s Adina lithium project, provide us with confidence in potentially discovering spodumene-bearing pegmatites.

“Despite recent lithium discoveries within the James Bay Lithium District, it remains significantly underexplored relative to other historic lithium pegmatite districts. We have designed a robust fieldwork programme to start building our understanding of the geology at Sauvolles and look forward to commencing work in the next few weeks.”