Investor Insights
Chariot Company presents a singular worth proposition for seasoned buyers, with its strategic possession of the biggest land bundle for lithium exploration within the US and a portfolio of non-core property offering important income alternatives.
Overview
Chariot Company (ASX:CC9) is the biggest landholder for lithium exploration within the US. It has a method to focus on each hardrock lithium in Wyoming and claystone lithium in Nevada and Oregon. The flagship Black Mountain mission in Wyoming has proven important mineralization with grades of as much as 6.68 p.c Li2O from rock chip samples. Chariot’s six different onerous rock tasks in Wyoming span 443 claims masking 3,585 hectares.
The second flagship mission, Resurgent, has the second largest land place within the McDermitt Caldera, which hosts the 2 largest lithium sources found thus far (Thacker Go with 19.1 million tons (Mt) lithium carbonate equal (LCE) and McDermitt at 21.5 Mt LCE). The current $650-million funding in Thacker Go by Normal Motors signifies curiosity from automakers trying to safe a provide of battery uncooked supplies. The McDermitt Caldera’s measurement and scale potential current a chance for Automotive OEMs, battery producers and others to acquire large-scale provide to fulfill their development plans.
The automaker’s EV targets and authorities insurance policies banning new inside combustion engine (ICE) automotive gross sales may propel lithium demand to three.7 Mt by 2030, in line with projections from mining large Albemarle. This means a CAGR of greater than 20 p.c between 2022 and 2030.
Because the world’s demand for lithium continues to develop, Chariot’s exploration and improvement efforts within the US are well-timed and supply buyers publicity to the quickly rising lithium market.
Chariot has been actively specializing in creating worth by means of the divestment of chosen lithium property. 4 such property have been divested up to now by means of sale and/or choice agreements with publicly listed firms. These transactions can doubtlessly generate as much as an estimated US$5.1 million in money and stock-based consideration, along with future royalty funds for Chariot. The corporate presently has 4 extra tasks which may be potential divestment alternatives, together with Lida and Amargosa (Nevada), Mardabilla (Western Australia) and Nyamukono (Zimbabwe).
The corporate believes its two core tasks, Black Mountain and Resurgent, symbolize early, potential lithium alternatives in america. Chariot has accomplished its section 1 drill program on the Black Mountain mission consisting of 9 shallow holes, drilled from a complete of 1,132 metres. The corporate plans to recommence exploration work at Black Mountain and interact in exploration actions at its six different lithium-caesium-tantalite pegmatite tasks in Wyoming. Part 2 drilling at Black Mountain will comprise 3,000 to 4,000 metres using cost-efficient, man-portable rigs as a precursor to a bigger truck-mounted drilling program.
Following the AU$9-million IPO, Chariot is now absolutely funded to execute its exploration plans over the following two years, of which practically a big proportion shall be spent on the Black Mountain mission.
Concurrently, the corporate plans to proceed exploration actions on the Copper Mountain mission, South Go, Wyoming Regional and the Resurgent mission to outline targets for future drilling.
Chariot boasts a world-class staff with robust monitor information in mining, exploration and the monetary companies sectors. The administration has important company and funding banking expertise. Non-executive chairman Murray Bleach was previously the CEO of Macquarie in North America, whereas the CEO, Shanthar Pathmanathan was an oil and funding banker with Macquarie and Deutsche Financial institution. On the geological aspect, Neil Stuart who’s a non-executive director is a lithium business veteran having beforehand based Orocobre Ltd (which later merged with Galaxy Sources) to kind Allkem Ltd, one of many largest lithium producers on the planet. The exploration staff is led by Dr. Edward Max Baker, a geologist with over 40 years of expertise and a number of other discoveries. He was the chief geologist at Newcrest Mining, MIM Holdings, Rennison Goldfields and Mount Isa Mines. The collective expertise of the administration staff, from funding banking (with fundraising and M&A expertise) to useful resource discoveries, shall be helpful in advancing the corporate’s core tasks.
Firm Highlights
- Chariot Company is a mineral exploration firm centered on discovering and growing high-grade and near-surface lithium alternatives within the US.
- Chariot holds the biggest land place for lithium exploration within the US with onerous rock lithium and claystone hosted lithium exploration property.
- The corporate commenced buying and selling on the ASX in October 2023 after closing a extremely sought-after and oversubscribed A$9 million preliminary public providing (which is along with AU$14.8 million being raised privately to assemble the portfolio).
- It’s presently centered on its two core tasks within the US: (1) the Black Mountain mission, a tough rock lithium mission situated in Wyoming; and (2) the Resurgent mission, a claystone lithium mission situated in Oregon and Nevada.
- Chariot additionally holds an exploration pipeline of six tasks in Wyoming together with Copper Mountain, South Go, Tin Cup, Barlow Hole, Pathfinder and JC tasks. These tasks are potential for onerous rock lithium.
- The corporate’s portfolio contains a number of extra tasks potential for onerous rock (Western Australia and Zimbabwe) and claystone lithium (Nevada, USA).
- Chariot additionally holds pursuits in a number of tasks which were both bought or conditionally divested by means of choice agreements to publicly listed firms. Every of the divested tasks are operated by a publicly listed counterparty and relying upon the actual transaction, the tasks generate extra income for Chariot within the type of future funds and royalties.
- Chariot presents buyers publicity to the nascent and quickly rising US lithium market.
Key Tasks
Black Mountain Mission, Wyoming
County, roughly halfway between Casper and Riverton, Wyoming. Chariot initially held a 91.9 p.c stake within the mission with 134 mining claims masking 878 hectares. In 2024, the corporate expanded the mission with 218 contiguous claims leading to a 206 p.c enhance in mission tenure space. Black Mountain now contains 352 claims masking 2,686 hectares of tenure which subsequently elevated Chariot’s possession pursuits in its Wyoming lithium portfolio to 93.9 p.c.
The mission is well-serviced by present roads and infrastructure. The declare space was acquired through declare staking of public land administered by the US Bureau of Land Administration.
The mission options massive pegmatite outcrops on the floor with spodumene and tantalum mineralisation. Floor rock chip samples returned assays of as much as 6.38 p.c lithium oxide.
Black Mountain could symbolize a big onerous rock lithium alternative in a tier-1 mining jurisdiction within the US. The asset options a superb mixture of geological elements, and a supportive regulatory regime and is situated in a largely unpopulated a part of Wyoming.
Resurgent Mission, Nevada and Oregon
The Resurgent mission is a claystone-hosted lithium mission situated within the McDermitt Caldera in Oregon and Nevada. The corporate owns a 79.4 p.c stake on this mission. The Resurgent mission contains 1,450 claims masking 12,128 hectares and is additional subdivided into two principal declare areas, recognized as ‘Resurgent North’ and ‘Resurgent East.’ Chariot has the second-largest land place within the McDermitt Caldera, which hosts two of the biggest lithium mineral sources in North America, with a mixed mineral useful resource estimate of over 40 Mt LCE – Thacker Go at 19.1 Mt LCE and McDermitt at 21.5 Mt LCE.
The Resurgent North mission targets the identical sedimentary models that host Jindalee Sources’ (ASX:JRL) McDermitt mission with a mineral useful resource estimate of 21.5 Mt LCE. A floor sampling marketing campaign at Resurgent North carried out in 2021 involving 289 samples returned values as excessive as 3,865 ppm lithium (over thrice typical lithium claystone MRE cut-off grade). Of the 289 samples, 70 samples returned values larger than 100 ppm lithium, 20 samples returned values larger than 1,000 ppm lithium and 10 samples returned values larger than 2,000 ppm lithium.
The Resurgent East mission targets the identical sedimentary models that host Lithium Americas’ (NYSE:LAC) Thacker Go lithium deposit (MRE at 19.1 Mt LCE). The similarity in geological traits with the 2 largest lithium deposits within the US additional validates the potential for a large-scale high-grade lithium discovery at Resurgent.
Exploration Pipeline Tasks
In addition to the 2 core tasks, the corporate has a pipeline of six lithium exploration tasks comprising 443 claims and masking 3,585 hectares. Every of them is described beneath:
- Copper Mountain Mission: The mission is situated ~80 kilometres northwest of Black Mountain in Fremont County, Wyoming. It contains 83 mining claims masking 648 hectares. Copper Mountain has an extended historical past of prospecting and artisanal-scale manufacturing having been traditionally mined for mica, feldspar, beryl, lepidolite and tantalite. The corporate has already recognized a number of pegmatite goal areas and has plans for a geochemical and floor magnetics survey along with geological mapping.
- South Go Mission: The mission is situated in Fremont County, Wyoming, and contains 214 mining claims masking 1,750 hectares. This can be a massive and extremely potential mission with an abundance of outcropping pegmatites that happen in swarms. The corporate notes the person pegmatites on the mission may vary as much as a number of hundred metres large and a number of other thousand metres lengthy. There was no prior exploration for onerous rock lithium within the South Go mission space.
- Regional Wyoming Exploration Pipeline Tasks: It contains 4 onerous rock lithium mining tasks particularly Tin Cup, Pathfinder, Barlow Hole and JC, comprising 146 mining claims masking 1,146 hectares.
- Barlow Hole Mission: This mission is situated in Natrona County, Wyoming, and contains 60 mining claims masking 501 hectares. That is an early-stage onerous rock lithium exploration mission with outcropping pegmatites on a northeast development.
- Tin Cup Mission: The mission is situated in Fremont County, Wyoming, and contains 45 mining claims masking 376 hectares. There’s a lengthy historical past of exploration at The Tin Cup mining district courting again to 1907. The area has been recognized for small-scale mining for gold, copper and varied gems together with crimson jasper, ruby and jade. That is an early-stage onerous rock lithium exploration mission with outcropping pegmatites.
- Pathfinder Mission: That is an early-stage onerous rock lithium mission situated in Natrona County, and contains 32 mining claims masking 234 hectares.
- JC Mission: Positioned in Fremont County, Wyoming, the mission contains 9 mining declare blocks spanning 75 hectares. That is an early-stage onerous rock lithium exploration mission that options a number of small excavation pits and outcropping pegmatite dykes.
Divestment Tasks
Chariot has been actively centered on creating worth through divestment of chosen lithium property in its portfolio. In complete, 4 such property – Halo (Chariot’s possession 21.4 p.c), Horizon (Chariot’s possession 21.4 p.c), Lithic & Mustang (possession 21.4 p.c) and the WA Lithium portfolio (Chariot was the one hundred pc proprietor of this property previous to the sale to St George Mining Ltd) – have been divested up to now by means of choice agreements to publicly listed firms. These transactions, if the choices are exercised, could generate as much as an estimated US$5.1 million in gross proceeds (money and stock-based consideration) for Chariot along with future royalty funds.
The corporate has recognized 4 extra tasks for divestment: Lida mission (Nevada), Amargosa mission (Nevada), Nyamukono mission (Zimbabwe), and Mardabilla mission (Western Australia).
Administration Workforce
Shanthar Pathmanathan – Managing Director
Shanthar Pathmanathan has 14 years of funding banking expertise within the metals and mining, oil and gasoline and chemical compounds sectors. He was the CEO and managing director of Lithium Consolidated, an ASX-listed firm, which had one of many largest portfolios of onerous rock lithium exploration property, globally. Earlier than that, he held varied funding roles with Deutsche Financial institution and Macquarie Group. He has a Bachelor of Legal guidelines from the College of Western Australia.
Frederick Forni – Government Director
Frederick Forni is a senior finance skilled with over 25 years of funding banking expertise. He was a former senior managing director of Macquarie Holdings (USA) and held non-executive director roles with quite a few Macquarie Group entities and GLI Finance Ltd. He holds a B.A. in economics from Connecticut Faculty, a J.D., awarded cum laude, from Georgetown College Legislation Middle and an LL.M. in taxation from New York College Legislation Faculty.
Neil Stuart – Non-executive Director
Neil Stuart is an exploration geologist with over 40 years’ of expertise and is a member of The Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He was a founding director of Orocobre Restricted, now Alkem (ASX:AKE). He has appreciable expertise throughout a number of commodities and was closely concerned in mission delineation and acquisition in Australia, Mexico and Argentina. During the last 20 years, he was concerned with the exploration and industrial improvement of lithium tasks. Stuart is on the board of quite a few ASX-listed firms and is a graduate of the College of Melbourne (BSc.) and James Prepare dinner College (MSc.).
Dr. Edward Max Baker – Geological Guide
Dr. Edward Max Baker is a Ph.D. geologist and a fellow of AusIMM. Baker has over 40 years of expertise and has made a number of discoveries. Baker was chief geologist for Newcrest Mining, MIM Holdings, Rennison Goldfields and Mount Isa Mines. Baker was co-founder and beforehand a vice-president of exploration at New York Inventory Alternate-listed Integra Sources (NYSE:ITRG).
Ramesh Chakrapani – Chief Technique Officer
Ramesh Chakrapani has over 20 years of expertise within the funding banking and various asset investing area. Of which, over 15 years had been spent at The Blackstone Group the place he was a managing director and a member of the Hedge Fund Options Particular Conditions Investing Group. Chakrapani has invested throughout a various set of industries, asset courses, geographies and liquidity profiles, and has represented The Blackstone Group on the boards of chosen investments. He has a B.A. from Yale College.
David Bethke – Exploration Geologist
David Bethke is an exploration geologist with 6 years of expertise working primarily within the Mountain West and Alaska areas of america, specializing in each gold and lithium deposits. Throughout his profession, he has labored intently with firms resembling Jindalee and United Lithium to discover, pattern, drill, and map lithium deposits hosted in each onerous rock and claystone. In Alaska, he has labored in manufacturing for a number of well-known gold mining firms, together with Coeur Mining and Northern Star Sources. David graduated cum laude from the College of Idaho with levels in geology and Spanish.
