Yes it seems very quiet on the ' Deal Making ' front with this 1MC outfit. Wonder what they're thinking with everyone and their Uncle participating in the land grabbing of Canadian claims and 'as well as ' Ferociously staking ' claims in Dakota..... So WHEN as you say is 1MC going to STRIKE !!
One has to wonder as well what Mark Holcombe had actually been up to since Morella appointed his Company Mark Holcombe LLC by agreement to supply ' Strategic market and management advisory services INCLUDING project generation to Morella back in January 2022 which was then ratified under resolution 6. at the AGM where he received 40 million shares for these services......?
Seemed to work for Resolution Minerals ( ASX : RML ) who after appointing the same Mark Holcombe on 14th September 2022 as non-executive Director , BUT less than a month later on 11th October and the SAME day his ( Mark's ) duties become effective , they ( RML ) acquire the 5.14% of Midwest Lithium for US $500,000 And Mark went on to participate in the coinciding capital raising with a circa contribution of $100,000 for approximately 10,000,000 shares taken up.
Of course Midwest Lithium are the holders of around 21,000 acres of ' Prime ' extensive , historical , and highly prospective lithium hard rock claims project area in the renowned Black Hills district of South Dakota.
Here's what RML had to say about him in their ASX announcement on 14th September :-
" Mr Holcombe brings over 30 years of experience incorporate and investment banking, corporate development and asset management. He has significantexperience in M&A advisory, corporate restructurings and public and private debt and equity financingsand investments in the natural resources sector. Mr Holcombe has an extensive global network, focusingon the battery materials and precious metals sectors. One of his current roles is as a senior advisor toNebari Holdings, which provides global financial solutions to the resource sector. "
" Mark has agreed toundertake an executive role with RML to 1) undertake corporate development activities, 2) project andinvestment generation opportunities, and 3) lead generation to high net-worth individuals and resourcefunds. "
" The appointment commences on 11 October 2022. The key employment terms are detailed in theAppendix below. "
And I guess the stake in Midwest Lithium AG was good enough for Arizona Lithium to then also take a further 11.5% stake in the South Dakota hard rock explorer for US$1.25 million ( A$1.95 million ) less than a month later on 7th November 2022.
It would appear then in the greater context of all this , that most investors involved here should also realise that Ires Metals ( ASX: IR1 ) was also one of the FIRST movers in the highly prospective Black Hills district in South Dakota as far back as early 2022 where they now claim to have a ' Dominant ' tenements claims position.
In fact RML says that their 5.14% is equivalent to 48 sq kilometres equalling 11,861.058 acres yet Midwest Lithium as per their website state that they have staked circa 21,000 acres which compares very favorably to Iris's ( ASX:ID1 ) bold statement of having control over 2,056 claims totalling 48,287 covering 4 separate project areas.
So you can see by the attached Maps below , the distribution between Midwest Lithium ( RMS & AZL stakeholders ) and IR1 of these HIGHLY prospective lithium pegmatite claims . as well as the significant ' Geology ' with the faults and multiple pegmatite showings.
You can also then get an idea from BOTH the Geological formations and fault zones which give rise to these significant historical lithium pegmatite distributions as well as some of the comments which highlight what a FANTASTIC US Lithium Play this actually could be for even Morella's standards.
So obviously one of the things I look for when investing from ALL of these findings is the unusual or unique ' commonalities ' which can exist between not only the projects but the operators, competitors , and explorers.
So what I like about this Midwest Lithium play is this. Not only is Midwest perhaps STILL up for grabs in terms of only onboarding OTHER cornerstone Investors to the tune of around 15.5% of its share capital ( ie AZL & RML) , it was touted as STILL looking for development fundings upwards of US$2.5 million.
In addition , we also have the commonality here of having project generator ' Aficionado ' Mark Holcombe having been involved FIRSTLY with 1MC , but then also RML . And all of this with with regards to RML happening ONE week or so before 1MC announces the ratification of Holcombe's 40 million shares in the AGM resolutions put out on 25th October 2022.
So if we assume that Holcombe had received his share at a minimum price of say 1.5 cent , what exactly did 1MC get for its approximate $600,000 in ' Project Generation ' and market & management advisory services fee....... ?
Another commonality I would like to draw the attention of the investors to is the fact that IR1 ( Ires Metals Limited ) who had put out their much anticipated announcement of a ' capital raising together with a ' Material Transaction '.
So their TH which was announced on 21st December 2022 and was followed by a Suspension on 23rd December had ONLY come out with this Announcement on proposed cornerstone investor and wel31st January 2023 and of which NOTHING has really been heard from since.
So one of the commonalities here is the fact that the ' Material Transaction ' seems to be the Institutional placement of A$1.5 million to none other than Waratah Capitals Electrification and Decarbonization AIE LP Fund . In the announcement , the Fund also advised it would participate further in the raising by subscribing to another $2 million worth of shares prices at $1 with a 1 for 2 free attaching $1.5 option expiring in 2 years from date of issue. So 1MC investors should all know of Waratah Capital and this fund as this was the same fund that subscribed to FOR $3 million worth of shares at 1.5 cents to 1MC's A$7.5 million placement announced back on 25th July 2022. Waratah through its sponsored Royalty corporation LRC also signed a Lithium Royalty deal with 1MC at the time for Tabba Tabba and Mt Edon projects worth US1.1 million with a further US $450,000 based on defining a minimum resource of 5 MT Li at 1% . And all of this extra in exchange for a 1.25% Gross Overriding revenue on BOTH of these projects.
Another commonality here is that Jett Capital was and is involved in BOTH of the IR1 and 1MC placement and raising's.
One last commonality connection which I also find equally interesting with respects to IR1 is the fact that in July 2022 , IR1 appointed Mr Levi Mochkin through his entity Ledger Holdings as Ires Metals ' Strategic Development Manager - North America '
Now for those not familiar , Mr Mochkin was one of the Founding Directors and driving force behind Piedmont Lithium Inc for some 18 years.
So there is a LOT to like with regards to the suspense which seems building around IR1 , Midwest Lithium , the ASX listed RML and AZL ......and potentially 1MC with regards to the HIGHLY prospective hard rock showings of the South Dakota Black Hills region.
So the BIGGER question for Investors now is when is 1MC likely to strike on its own hard rock project in Canada or elsewhere , will it be Hard Rock vis a vis a ' Chilean ' brine play , and whether whatever they do could also end up sparking some sort of highly ' contested ' interest around it. Especially in the case of the still ' In Play ' Midwest Lithium AG where AZL with its market cap and bank balance ( without Sayona ) might actually ' Trump ' what 1MC currently has available in its own acquisition arsenal.......
Either way , I feel as though something is coming SOON !!
