Tivan to Acquire Molyhil Critical Minerals Project from Investigator Resources and Thor Energy

Critical minerals company Tivan (ASX: TVN) will spend $8.75 million to acquire the Molyhil tungsten-molybdenum project in the Northern Territory from Investigator Resources (ASX: IVR) and Thor Energy (ASX: THR).

The company has signed a binding term sheet to purchase the project, which sits adjacent to its Sandover fluorite development and hosts a resource estimate of 4.65 million tonnes at 0.26% tungsten trioxide and 0.09% molybdenum, for 12,100 tonnes of tungsten trioxide and 4,400t of molybdenum.

The project comes with an operational production water bore (essential for any project development and operation) and Tivan will take assignment of Investigator’s and Thor’s mineral rights on Sandover’s tenements.

Unique Development Synergies

The acquisition provides Tivan with outright ownership of an advanced, high-value critical minerals project that has unique development synergies with Sandover.

Payment for the acquisition comprises a $500,000 non-refundable deposit and staged payments of $8.25m in cash and/or Tivan shares over the following three years.

Tivan will leverage its existing relationships in central Australia and Japan to expedite project facilitation, offtake marketing, financing, and development.

“As a historical site with established water infrastructure, our impact footprint at Molyhil would be materially reduced, aiding environmental approvals and respectful engagement with traditional owners and native title holders,” executive chair Grant Wilson said.

“At current commodity prices, we believe the first couple of years of mining would be extraordinarily profitable and enable us to optimally finance the development of an iconic critical minerals precinct in central Australia.”

Prolonged Orphan Phase

Mr Wilson said Tivan had the capabilities, standing, and determination to lift Molyhil out of its prolonged orphan phase and into production in rapid time.

The deposit saw mining between 1978 and 1982, with various drill programs and studies since then supporting resource definition and estimation and preliminary test work.

“The criticality of this project is reflected in China’s recent export restrictions and major shifts that are underway in favor of the national stockpiling of select critical minerals,” he said.

“We are operating at the frontier of these developments with our strong government relationships in Australia and our Tier 1 project partners in Japan.”

US Critical Minerals List

Tungsten and molybdenum are on the Australian government’s critical minerals list and those of a number of other major economies, as well as Japan’s list of designated “rare metals” for stockpiling.

One of the strongest naturally-occurring materials with the highest melting point of all elements, tungsten metal presents almost exclusively in the form of chemical compounds with other elements.

It has applications in industrial tooling and machinery, aerospace and defence applications, electronics and semi-conductors, and niche high-density sectors.

Molybdenum is a by-product of copper-tungsten mining, primarily used as an alloying agent by forming hard and stable carbides and enhancing strength, corrosion resistance and high-temperature stability.

It has various uses across the aerospace, automotive, industrial machinery, semi-conductor, and clean energy sectors.