Canadian company Silver Valley Metals is in talks with Mexican state-owned LitioMx to form an exploration and production partnership.

The talks, which have been ongoing for months, “address the possibility of forming an alliance to explore and ultimately produce lithium at Mexico’s lithium-potassium project, located in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí,” Silver Valley said in a statement.

The exploration company, formerly Organimax Nutrient, owns the La Salada, Santa Clara and Caligüey projects on 4,060 ha of salars in the region.

“The negotiation relates only to the lithium component of at least one deposit with multiple goods. The inferred resources to date stand at 243,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent and are located at an average depth of just 5 meters,” the miner said.

MexiCan, the nation’s second most advanced lithium project, remains open to expansion through exploration, according to Silver Valley.

In March 2022, the company indicated that it was analyzing partnership alternatives for its lithium potassium sulphate deposits in Zacatecas. Talks have taken place under confidentiality agreements with different groups to negotiate direct investments, joint ventures, spin-offs or a 100% acquisition.

“The relationship forging between LitioMx and Silver Valley Metals shares a vision to develop the project in a sustainable manner with a focus on clean mining technology, community involvement and strong and transparent governance that will be key to our success,” said Brandon Rook, CEO of Silver Valley.

For his part, the managing director of LitioMx, Pablo Taddei, recently told Bloomberg that “negotiations are underway with companies that already have concessions [de litio] in the country with the aim of forming a common front”.

Silver Valley highlighted Taddei’s statements that “LitioMx will manage and maintain a controlling interest in the activities necessary for the production, processing and distribution of litiferous products, for which it may partner with other companies and public institutions. and private”.

LitioMx was created by decree in August 2022 as part of the strategy to nationalize lithium resources.