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Activists accuse Azimut of ‘squatting’ on Quebec lithium lands | Junior says the ‘self-interested’ shareholders want to acquire stakes in some of its claims LITHIUM
Bolivia pushes for Latin America-wide lithium policy | Regional OPEC-like cartel could control 70% of world’s reserves
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Azimut Exploration’s James Bay nickel project in Quebec. AZIMUT EXPLORATION
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BY HENRY LAZENBY
wo activist shareholders with ‘substantial’ holdings in Azimut Exploration (TSXV: AZM) have accused the junior of “squatting” on some of Quebec’s most prospective lithium lands. On Mar. 14, Coloured Ties Capital (TSXV: TIE) and privately held Bullrun Capital issued a second open letter to Azimut’s founder, president and CEO Jean-Marc Lulin, accusing the geologist of refusing to acknowledge or engage with them about its detailed exploration plans for its James Bay lithium portfolio. The activists are turning up the heat on Lulin and Azimut after Patriot Battery Metals’ (TSXV: PMET; ASX: PMT) promising Corvette lithium discovery as well as Winsome Resources’ (ASX: WR1) Adina discovery. Patriot aims to publish the first resource on Corvette this summer. The concerned shareholders say they are active investors in Quebec’s critical mineral exploration projects via investments in junior explorers. “These companies have made discoveries that have made James Bay the lithium exploration capital of the world and provided amazing shareholder returns to all investors in the James Bay region,” they said in a Tuesday press release. For example, Patriot enjoyed a more than 2,200% run-up in its stock price through January. In contrast, Azimut holds what
THE ACTIVISTS ARGUE AZIMUT’S STOCK PRICE HAS A DISCOUNTED VALUATION THAT REFLECTS THE MARKET’S FRUSTRATION WITH ITS REFUSAL TO EXPLORE ITS VAST CRITICAL MINERAL LAND HOLDINGS, INSTEAD FOCUSING SOLELY ON GOLD. the activists believe is the best and most prospective critical minerals ground in the region, but has chosen not to advance its lithium potential. Recently, Azimut went on a staking frenzy to stake additional ground. The activists argue Azimut’s stock price has a discounted valuation compared with its peers that reflects the market’s frustration with Azimut’s refusal to explore its vast critical mineral land holdings instead focusing solely on gold. “This practice to acquire vast critical mineral land holdings in Quebec and then squat on these
highly prospective lands is in direct contrast to others from outside Quebec and Canada who may ‘know the land less’ but have established critical minerals deposits on ground adjoining or surrounding Azimut ground in the last three years,” the activists charged. They’re advocating for a revamp of Azimut’s business practices. They insist the company establish a critical minerals division and engage a qualified critical minerals exploration executive team to run it. They want Azimut to engage in business practices that are respectful of all shareholders, adjoining property junior exploration companies and all other stakeholders, including Canada’s current mandate to develop critical minerals assets in Quebec. In a response, Azimut characterized the activists’ assertions as containing “numerous inaccuracies, mischaracterizations, and false statements.” “The recent re-election of all company’s directors at the annual general shareholders’ meeting, with support ranging between 92.5% and 99.9% of the shares voted at the meeting, demonstrates that shareholders endorse the company’s current leadership and business strategy,” Lulin said in the Mar. 16 statement. The company said it had demonstrated an openness to the activSee AZIMUT / 3
BY CECILIA JAMASMIE
olivia’s government is calling its lithium-producing neighbours to forge ahead with the idea of setting a Latin America-wide policy on the exploitation of the coveted battery metal. The idea, part of a broader initiative involving Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile to form an OPEClike cartel, seeks to collectively boost the bargaining power of these countries, President Luis Are said in a speech in La Paz. “We must be united in the market, in a sovereign manner, with prices that benefit our economies, and one of the ways, already proposed by (Mexico’s) President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is to think of a kind of lithium OPEC,” Arce said according to local paper La Razon. Bolivia holds the world’s largest lithium resources at 21 million tonnes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The area of sprawling salt flats known as the “lithium triangle,” which includes northern Chile and Argentina, has about 65% of the globe’s known resources of the white metal. If Peruvian, Mexican and Brazilian potential reserves were added, the region would hold nearly 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. This would translate into a restructuring of the world economic scenario around the energy transition and a provide a new, sound source of income for Latin American economies, according to the Latin American Strategy Centre for Geopolitics (CELAG). Bolivia, which has almost no industrial production or commercially viable reserves, inked in January a deal with a consortium that includes Chinese battery giant CAT to jointly extract lithium from its Uyuni and Oruro salt flats. The partnership would give the group of companies, which also includes mining giant CMOC, rights to develop two lithium plants. Arce, who wants to industrialize Bolivia’s lithium before the end of his term in 2025, expressed concern about foreign meddling in the lithium business, particularly from the United States. “We don’t want our lithium to
E3 LITHIUM UPDATE UNVEILS CANADA’S BIGGEST LITHIUM RESOURCE / 8
be in the Southern Command’s crosshairs, nor do we want it to be a reason for destabilizing democratically elected governments or foreign harassment,” he said. Chile, Argentina and Bolivia have been talking about creating a lithium cartel since July last year. They now seek to integrate other Latin American nations with an incipient lithium industry, including Brazil and Mexico. Analysts, including Geopolitical Monitor’s Arman Sidhu, believe that bringing the idea to fruition is likely to spark opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous groups that contributed to left-wing victories in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. He also warned of additional obstacles, including China’s monopolist position in the industry, investors’ fears and the longterm political viability of such an idea. TNM
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