TSX-V-listed Sage Potash has announced the formation of a US subsidiary, Sage Lithium, which will operate as a standalone unit exploring mineral leases for lithium and other soluble saline mineralisation on private mineral and surface leases owned by the parent company.
Sage Potash holds leases in the Paradox basin that grant the company exclusive rights to extract potash, lithium and other saline minerals and resources.
The company believes that historic oil and gas wells throughout the Paradox basin were seldom analysed for lithium, bromine, potassium and boron, though the few that were sampled returned concentrations ranging from 66 ppm to 1 700 ppm lithium, 18 800 ppm to 47 000 ppm potassium, and 1 150 ppm to 6 100 ppm bromine.
“When we included 'saline mineral rights' in our initial private mineral leases, we didn't realise at the time how much lithium interest would develop in the Paradox Basin/Lisbon Valley. Using SQM (Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A.) as a model, which can be considered either the world's lowest cost lithium producer or potash producer, management believes there is a significant opportunity to leverage both the geology and its lease rights to add considerable shareholder value for multiple complementary mineral development streams, or as an eventual company spin-off,” said Sage Potash CEO Peter Hogendoorn.