(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - N.America)
With one bound Sienna Resources (CVE:SIE) has placed itself at the centre of the burgeoning lithium market. The company has just acquired a significant block of ground in the Clayton Valley of Nevada, home to North America's only producing brine-based lithium mine.
And it's not just a block around the edges.
A quick glance at the map below will show that it's a block right in the heart of the prospect, in and around ground that's owned and highly prized by one of Canada's most recent lithium success stories, Pure Energy (CVE:PE), and just a couple of kilometres south and (in the same actual basin)of the producing Silver Peak mine, owned by Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB).
Sienna's position
Sienna's ground position in the Clayton Valley
'There's a lot of companies searching around in the Clayton (Valley )and other potential basins,' explains Jason Gigliotti, Sienna's chairman.
But what makes Sienna's new block stand out is its depth.
The Clayton Valley lithium deposits come in the form of a brine, which means they are held in a liquid salt solution and are likely to be congregated at the lowest point of bedrock.
Gigliotti likens the model to a bathtub that might be 10% full of water. 'You want to be right at the bottom,' he says. 'There may be drops on the side, but you want to be at the deepest part.'
That's certainly the theory Pure's been working off - a look at the map shows that its ground almost exclusively covers the areas in this basin where the depth to bedrock is greatest, with the notable exception of Sienna's own ground.
Pure's shares have more than doubled over the past 12 months, to C$0.59, and at one point had quadrupled before the profit takers moved in.
And the thinking is that the next company that attracts the attention of lithium-focussed investors is likely to be Sienna.
One reason for this is that despite being a direct neighbour to Pure, which has a deal with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), and despite being in close proximity to Albemarle, which is the largest listed lithium company on earth, Sienna is still relatively unrecognised by the market.
It's currently capitalised at a mere C$ 4.5 mln, which is currently near the bottom of the range for junior lithium companies in Nevada. But then, the dust hasn't yet settled on the deal and Gigliotti is only just beginning to get the word out.
He's attending the 8th Annual Lithium Supply and Markets Conference in Las Vegas this week, and that will represent his first major outreach to market.
At the conference he will be looking to add additional technical people to help him really get to work on the ground, and he'll also be able to gauge wider industry interest in the Clayton Valley Deep Basin project as most major lithium companies and financiers will be at this conference.
'My next focus will be to strengthen Sienna's technical team,' says Gigliotti. 'My goal is to maximize my shareholders' value which could entail possible joint ventures on this project. If we can form a venture where Sienna limits or even cuts out the cost to explore and develop this deep project would be ideal if the right partner approaches. But whatever makes most sense for my shareholders is what I'm going to do.'
In the meantime, he's pretty confident that the story will quickly start to get traction in the market.
Why? because lithium occupies a unique space across mining and technology. 'If you go into a boardroom and talk to anybody under 35,' he says, '99% have heard of lithium.They've all heard of Tesla. There is a broader understanding what the use could be for.'
Added to that, though, the seasoned mining investors know about lithium too. They don't necessarily know tech. And the young tech-savvy investment community don't necessarily know mining. But they both know lithium, and combined that's a pretty powerful investment base.
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