Locksley Resources Signs Antimony Ore Supply Agreement with EV Resources to Advance Desert Mine

Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY) has signed an agreement with EV Resources (ASX: EVR) to secure additional beneficiated ore for the development of its Desert antimony mine within the high-grade Mojave rare earth project in California.

The deal will see EV Resources supply Locksley with antimony concentrate from its Los Lirios operations in Peru with a view to creating a long-term supply partnership focused on offtake to support downstream processing studies.

The agreement with EV Resources secures a potential long-term customer for Los Lirios concentrate while at the same time giving Locksley access to a secure supply of antimony to advance its proprietary DeepSolv processing technology.

Representative Ore Samples

Under the terms, EV Resources will send representative samples of ore to Locksley’s refining facility to test and confirm its properties and processing viability.

In return, Locksley will make a $750,000 strategic investment in EV Resources, contingent on the signing of a binding antimony ore sales agreement and subject to approval from EV Resources’ shareholders.

Access to multiple ore supplies is complementary to the development of the Desert mine and advances Locksley’s strategy of providing security of supply needed for US defence security.

DeepSolv Development

Locksley believes the steady and diverse feedstock supply will strengthen the commercial pathway for DeepSolv, which the company developed in collaboration with Rice University in Texas.

DeepSolv is an organic solvent that replaces the negative alkaline and acid elements of hydrometallurgy for use in ore dissolution, providing a method of leaching straight from ore to product.

It is an improvement on the proven solvo-metallurgical process method and is agnostic to ore source, potentially exposing Locksley to the $3.25 billion antimony market.

Mine-to-Market Strategy

Locksley chair Pat Burke said the decision to source third-party ore formed part of its broader mine-to-market strategy targeting supply for the US defence and energy markets.

“This agreement potentially strengthens that strategy by complementing our Mojave development with additional concentrate supply from EV Resources,” he said.

“By securing nearshore feedstock alongside our fast-tracked mining plans in California, we will be well-positioned to accelerate a US return to domestic antimony processing.”

“With Rice University’s support and the deployment of our DeepSolv technology, Locksley is assembling the resources, partnerships, and technology to ensure secure, scalable, and independent antimony supply for the US.”