Mining Technology

Daily Newsletter

09 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

St George acquires lithium-prospective tenements in Western Australia

Covering a total area of 653km², the lithium-prospective tenements comprise seven distinct projects.

Mining exploration company St George Mining, through its wholly owned subsidiary Lithium Star, has closed the acquisition of a package of tenements in Western Australia (WA) from Chariot Corporation and Stallion Lithium.

Lithium Star has acquired 100% of a package of lithium-prospective tenements, which comprises 14 exploration licences.

Comprising seven distinct projects, the 653km² tenements include land packages located along strike from high-grade lithium deposits and established spodumene-producing lithium mines.

The seven projects include the Buningonia, Buningonia North, Myuna Rocks and Ten Mile West projects.

St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said: “The acquisition of these projects – through our wholly owned subsidiary, Lithium Star – is in line with our strategy to build a high-quality portfolio of lithium assets in Tier 1 jurisdictions like Western Australia.

“Five of the new projects are located in the southern portion of the Yilgarn Craton, an area gaining a global reputation as a ‘super province’ for lithium with three spodumene-producing mines and five others in development.

“Exploration ground in this region is highly sought after.

“We will aim to unlock the lithium potential of these new projects with systematic exploration, alongside ongoing drilling and exploration at our advanced Mt Alexander Project.”

The company is planning to launch exploration programmes for all of the new projects in the coming weeks, subject to the receipt of heritage approvals.

ESG 2.0 marks a shift towards stricter environmental rules

ESG is moving into a different era, which we call ESG 2.0. While ESG 1.0 was driven by voluntary corporate action, spurred by pressure from activist consumers and investors, ESG 2.0 is being driven by a new wave of government policies. The EU has taken the regulatory lead, with rules introduced or in the pipeline that will price emissions, regulate the use of the terms ‘ESG’ and ‘sustainability’ in marketing materials, and make ESG reporting mandatory. The US has taken a different approach, favoring less regulation and more financial support in the form of tax breaks for clean industry (renewables plus nuclear and hydrogen). China is planning to expand its emissions trading system to more sectors, decarbonize its heavy industry, and ramp up its use of renewables. The new policy direction is mainly motivated by the ambition to hit net zero emissions targets. But on top of this, governments are now competing for clean industry and trying to challenge China’s leadership on the production of the world’s green technologies such as solar panels and batteries, as well as the production and refinement of materials needed for energy transition such as lithium. These driving forces are leading to policy that will impact every sector, not just heavy industry, and will keep ESG near the top of the regulatory agenda over the longer term.