SAGA Metals has concluded its acquisition of a 100% interest in the Amirault Lithium Property, which is contiguous to the Legacy Lithium Project optioned by Rio Tinto in Canada.

Earlier this year, the mineral exploration company signed an asset purchase agreement with two private vendors for the acquisition of the Amirault Lithium Property.

Under the agreed terms, SAGA Metals paid $200,000 (C$275,757) in cash, split evenly between the two vendors, and issued a total of four million common shares.

Additionally, the company granted a 2% gross overriding royalty to the vendors.

The Amirault Lithium Property spans 31,347.76ha in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Québec and consists of 606 mining claims.

This acquisition extends SAGA's land holdings to 1,274 claims across 65,849ha, positioning the company as a significant player in a region known for lithium-bearing pegmatite formations.

The region hosts other notable exploration companies such as Winsome Resources, Azimut Exploration and Loyal Lithium.

The Legacy Lithium project, now adjacent to the newly acquired Amirault Property, is part of an option to joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTEC), signed on 27 June 2024.

RTEC has the option to earn a 51% interest in the project over four years by fulfilling several conditions including a C$410,190 cash payment, which SAGA has already received, and committing to C$9.57m in exploration spending, with at least C$1.71m committed within the first 20 months.

Following the initial period, RTEC can further increase its stake to 75% by investing an additional C$34.18m in exploration over five years.

RTEC will manage the project during the option periods, with a joint technical committee to plan exploration programmes.

Current fieldwork includes pegmatite mapping, sampling and geophysical surveys.

The partnership with Rio Tinto is expected to be a significant growth catalyst for SAGA Metals as it continues to develop and expand its lithium project portfolio in Canada.

SAGA Metals CGO and director Michael Garagan said: “We are excited to announce the official closing of the Amirault acquisition, expanding SAGA’s foothold in the eastern section of James Bay to the largest contiguous land package at over 65,000ha.

“While RTEC operates boots on the ground programmes at Legacy, we look forward to confirming the prospective nature of the Amirault claims, which run contiguous to Legacy and Loyal Lithium as seen in this release.”