Rio Tinto And Lion Copper & Gold Signed An Agreement To Advance Exploration Of Copper Assets in Nevada.

Lion Copper & Gold Announced Monday that it has entered into a earn option agreement with Rio Tinto USA to advance research and exploration of Lion's copper assets in Mason Valley, Nevada.

Under the agreement, Rio is entitled to a 65 per cent interest in the asset, which comprises 34,494 acres of land including the historic Yerington mine, the Greenbelt MacArthur project, the Wassuk property, the Bear deposit, associated water rights and about 20 exploration targets spread across the company's parcel of land.

Rio will now evaluate the potential commercial deployment of its Naton technology. Naton Technologies offers copper heap leaching technology, which was developed to improve copper recovery in mined ores and to access new copper resources, such as low grade sulphide resources, as well as to reprocess stock and mineralized waste.

The company says these technologies have the potential to achieve leading environmental performance through more efficient water use, lower carbon emissions and the ability to recycle mining areas by reprocessing waste.

"This agreement has the potential to both expand the scope and scale of our development and accelerate the pace of initial production," Travis Naugle, Lion Copper and Gold's chief executive, said in a media statement. As managers of Nevada's important copper resources and water rights, we recognize our role in a sustainable and circular economy. If Rio tinto exercises its profitability option, we believe it will improve its quality level and drive the development of its mining assets to become a strategic domestic copper producer with the highest ESG standards and performance. We look forward to continuing to advance the MacArthur project and our other assets at Mason Valley by building constructive relationships with Rio Tinto, the local community, Native American tribes, the state of Nevada and other valuable stakeholders."

In addition to moving forward with the MacArthur copper project based on the recently released mineral resource estimate, Lion Copper & Gold intends to focus on resource growth through a comprehensive approach that evaluates the company's asset base and land package expansion.

Naton technology has the potential to economically develop low-grade sulfide resources, copper-bearing wastes and tailings, and achieve higher copper recovery rates in oxides and transition materials, resulting in significantly higher copper production while reducing the corresponding carbon footprint, the company said.

"This agreement will allow us to explore the potential commercial deployment of Naton copper leaching technology in a historic mining area with significant copper resources," said Bode Batar, Chief executive of Rio Tinto Copper Mines. These technologies not only offer Rio tinto the potential to develop more copper, but also provide low-carbon production with significant environmental benefits by reprocessing old stocks and tailings to reduce waste from new and ongoing operations."

Rio tinto will pay up to $4 million in exclusive earnings options and agree to lion Copper and Gold to complete the Mason Valley study and evaluation work by December 31, 2022.

狮子铜和金th股价上涨18.75%e news in afternoon trading on CVE. The company has a market value of C $26.5 million.