Cruz Battery Metals Corp. (the “Company” or “Cruz”) (CSE: CRUZ) (OTC Pink: BKTPF) (FSE: A40YSN) announces it plans to acquire, from arm’s length vendors, the 580-acre ‘Central Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project’ located in the heart of Clayton Valley in Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA. This new project consists of 29 claims completely surrounded by SLB’s (formerly Schlumberger Limited) Clayton Valley lithium brine project. Cruz will now have a footprint of 820 acres prospective for lithium brine in Clayton Valley, Nevada. This acquisition is subject to all regulatory approvals.
James Nelson, President of Cruz, commented “We believe there are several reasons why the Central Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project has potentially major upside value. These claims are located with access to the deepest part of the Clayton Valley lithium brine basin in Esmeralda County, Nevada, and are completely inside of SLB’s (formerly Schlumberger) claims. We are very pleased to acquire this project at a time when SLB has successfully completed the 100% earn-in of Pure Energy Ltd.’s Clayton Valley lithium brine project and has recently demonstrated successful ongoing, high purity direct lithium extraction (DLE) production from this basin. In addition, the incoming Trump administration brings with it a lot of ‘Made in America’ sentiment. It’s clear that a reduction of USA reliance on foreign resources will be a priority for the Trump administration. We believe this will provide a tail wind in the demand for domestic lithium production. As Albemarle’s Clayton Valley Lithium Brine operation is currently the only lithium production in North America, we see this opportunity as a potential major catalyst for other lithium players to build up a domestic resource with what will be seemingly less regulatory restrictions and political red tape to go through. Management is excited as we enter a period of increased corporate activity in 2025 and the potential growth this year may bring for Cruz shareholders.”
According to a CNBC article dated January 2, 2025, China’s push to develop its own electric cars hit a tipping point in July, with the share of new energy vehicles sold accounted for more than half all passenger cars sold that month, according to the passenger car association. New energy vehicles include battery-only and hybrid-powered cars. The trend persisted through November, which saw a penetration rate of 52.3%, according to association data.
On January 3, 2025, GM announced that for the fourth quarter, sales were up 21% from the year-earlier period. Electric vehicle sales jumped 50% for the quarter and 125% for the year, roughly doubling our market share over the course of the year. GM was the #2 seller of EVs in the U.S. across the second half of 2024.
Mr. Nelson went on to say, “Despite the ferociously negative sentiment around lithium and EV’s over the last two years, the recent data clearly shows that EV sales are increasing and the momentum for EV sales globally is in fact strengthening, not weakening. Therefore, we feel domestically sourced lithium projects in 2025 will garner significantly more market interest than the previous two years.”
Announced on September 11, 2024, Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.’s partner, SLB, has now completed a comprehensive technology demonstration and testing program as required to earn-in to the company’s 100-per-cent-owned Clayton Valley lithium brine project (CV project) in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
Pure Energy and SLB formed a partnership in May, 2019, which provides for SLB to design, permit, develop and build a state-of-the-art pilot plant for direct lithium extraction (DLE) of lithium brines from the Clayton Valley property. The sustainable lithium demonstration plant, operated by SLB, currently is producing lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) product, a direct component of lithium batteries in mobile phones, electric vehicles and energy storage.
SLB has demonstrated completion of specific technical milestones to qualify the earn-in to 100-per-cent ownership of the CV project, which include continuous production of lithium carbonate for an extended period and achieving a material quantity of lithium product in excess of a required purity threshold, which was verified by a third party.
The Company has agreed to acquire the Central Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project for compensation of one hundred fifteen thousand in cash, which covers BLM fees and staking costs, and the issuance of seven million shares that carry a four-month hold, payable on closing. This acquisition is subject to all regulatory approvals.
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