Rio Tinto’s stealthmoves in WA lithium grabRio Tinto has quietly...

Rio Tinto’s stealthmoves in WA lithium grab

Rio Tinto has quietly entered the lithium land grab unfolding inWestern Australia as it looks to secure its future in battery minerals, rackingup exploration tenements spanning more than 145,000 hectares in the red-hotjurisdiction that has minted billionaires and fanned takeover battles.

The Australian FinancialReview can reveal that Rio has claims covering more than 61,000hectares close to the Kathleen Valley lithium project being developed by $6.6billion takeover target Liontown Resources.

It is also in the process of shoring up almost 46,000 hectaresof exploration ground directly north and to the south-east of the Mt Idalithium project owned by Gina Rinehart and Chris Ellison-backed Delta Lithium

Chief executive Jakob Stausholm saidin May that Rio was likely to sit out M&A because of the high valuations oflisted lithium players. Last week, Mrs Rinehart escalated interest in the sector, snaring 7.2 per cent ofLiontown, which itself is the target of a $3-a-share takeover by Albemarle.

Rio declined to comment when asked about its intentions as apotential consolidator and the exploration ground it has accumulated in roughlya 250-kilometre line from Kathleen Valley to Mt Ida. It has interests inArgentina and Serbia, too

One of the tenement packages covers about 40,000 hectares, andis near Sandstone, where Rio has an existing partnership with ASX-listedlithium hopeful Everest Metals. Rio lodged several tenement applications inAugust last year and has expanded on this work with further applications madethis year.

On top of its stake in Delta, Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Prospectingis exploring for lithium near Mt Ida through a partnership that involves theIndian government-backed Legacy Iron and Hawthorn Resources.

Andrew Forrest’s great-great uncle Sir John Forrest is creditedfor naming Mt Ida in 1869, which became the site of a gold rush in the 1890s.

Juno Minerals boss Greg Durack observed the activity centresaround a geographic phenomenon known as the Mt Ida fault. Hancock is also oneof the biggest shareholders in Juno, a junior exploration company with groundnext to the fault.

“So far it is ticking all the boxes. Of course, you’ve got todrill holes and that’s what we’re going to do, and so we’re pretty excitedabout that,” Mr Durack said. “We started looking at all that lithium because ofthe region that we’re in.”

Mr Durack, who consulted to Pilbara Minerals for six years andran the feasibility study on its Pilgangoora mine, said miners had peggedground all around the fault.

ASX nickel and lithium producer IGO has a big footprint in thearea through joint ventures with St George Mining and Venus Metals, and its ownexploration tenements.

IGO is on the hunt for more lithium to go with its stake in theGreenbushes mine in WA’s south-west, after its moves on Essential Metals werethwarted by Mr Ellison. He subsequently backed a bid from Bill Beament’s Develop Global.

Mr Durack said Juno, whose other big backers are South Korea’sPOSCO and AMCI, started paying attention to the lithium potential of itstenements just over a year ago. Until then, the company’s main focus had beenits hematite iron ore project linked to Esperance port and a big magnetite ironore deposit.

Mr Durack said the rise in lithium in WA since his days on theground floor with Pilbara Minerals was extraordinary.