South West Terrane, WA
SOUTH WEST TERRANE, WA
IGO is committed to informing and empowering landowners in the South West Terrane; to build the trust essential to developing the cooperative relationships required to conduct our exploration activities.
The exploration activities are in the early-stage and involve evaluating the South West Terrane to identify any potential lithium and other clean energy metal deposits.
IGO’s lithium business is currently held through our joint venture with Tianqi Lithium Corporation, called Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA). TLEA has a 51% stake in the Greenbushes Lithium Mine (with the remaining 49% owned by Albemarle Corporation), and 100% ownership of the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery.
Under a Farm In and Joint Venture Agreement with a subsidiary of Venus Metals Corporation Limited, IGO has the exclusive right to earn up to a 70% interest in several tenements in the South West Terrane by meeting a two staged minimum spend.
IGO also holds tenements in the South West Terrane in its own right.
Lithium has the highest electric output per unit weight of any battery material, making it the obvious choice for energy storage in many types of technology. In 2015, 35% of extracted lithium was used to produce lithium batteries, this is forecast to increase to 73% by 2025 and over 90% by 2030.1
IGO is seeking to expand its lithium business, to contribute towards the growing global demand for the metals critical to clean energy.
Your rights as a landowner
There are a number of tenements available under the WA Mining Act 1978.
An Exploration Licence authorises the licence holder to explore for the mineral or groups of minerals specified in the licence. IGO has been granted several Exploration Licences in the South West Terrane.
Exploration Licences are granted subject to certain conditions, including strict environmental management conditions to protect native flora and fauna, land, water resources, heritage and infrastructure. These conditions regulate the type of exploration that be carried out and where it can occur.
An Exploration Licence does not authorise the licence holder to mine for minerals. A Mining Lease would be required for that purpose.
Under section 29 of the WA Mining Act 1978, a tenement in respect of the natural surface and to within a depth of 30 metres thereof shall not be granted in respect of private land which is:
- in bona fide and regular use as a yard, stockyard, garden, orchard, vineyard, plant nursery or plantation or is land under cultivation
- the site of a cemetery or burial ground
- the site of a dam, bore, well or spring
- land on which there is erected a substantial improvement
- within 100m of any such private land described above; or
- a separate parcel of land of 2000m2 or less,
Except with the written consent of the owner and occupier of the private land concerned.
If you are open to working together, IGO will conduct a face-to-face meeting to provide you with our Freehold Title Land Access Agreement. This will be accompanied by a Letter Agreement in which we encourage you to seek independent legal advice and agree to reimburse you for reasonable legal costs up to a specified amount.
IGO’s Freehold Title Land Access Agreement only provides for exploration activities. It does not provide for mining activities.
We believe that it takes time and effort to build trust and by committing to open and honest interactions and communication, we are building that trust and making it happen.
We understand that your livelihood and / or lifestyle is dependent on your land, and we respect your position.
For more information regarding your rights, please see the Freehold Title Rights - Western Australia Information Sheet here.
Current phase
IGO has rights in respect of several granted Exploration Licences to conduct lithium exploration in the South West Terrane.
Since mid-2023, IGO has been meeting with landowners in the South West Terrane to negotiate access to their properties to conduct early-stage exploration.
Early-stage exploration activities are generally conducted at surface level and involve:
- Limited or no on-ground disturbance beyond access requirements
- No significant impact on the environment
- Use of non-mechanised or handheld equipment; and
- Accessing sites via light vehicle, on foot and / or occasionally helicopter in very remote areas.
For more information on specific exploration techniques, please see the information sheets below.
Contact
For enquiries about this project, please contact Adam Kennedy by emailing southwestterrane@igo.com.au or call IGO on +61 8 9238 8300 and request to speak with Adam Kennedy.
Information Sheets
1 Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, December 2023.
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