Ascent Resources enters binding licence deal with Neometals vehicle

(Sharecast News) - Ascent Resources said on Friday that it has entered into a binding exclusive licence agreement with a Neometals-backed vehicle to advance the evaluation of lithium and potash potential from brines in its Paradox Basin acreage in Utah. The AIM-traded company said the agreement, signed alongside its joint operating partner American Helium, granted Utah Brine Corporation exclusive rights to access and utilise 26 inactive oil and gas wells, associated infrastructure and geological data.

It said the licence would support brine sampling, technical studies and potential future extraction of lithium and potassium.

Under the terms, Utah Brine would pay an annual access fee of $200,000 and a permitting fee of up to $1.9m upon receipt of key approvals, while Ascent would receive a gross smelter return royalty of between 2.5% and 3.5% on any future production.

The licence would run broadly in line with the project life, subject to termination if commercial extraction had not begun within seven years.

As part of the transaction, Neometals would issue Ascent 4.9 million unlisted options, exercisable at 10 Australian cents per share.

The agreement followed a due diligence process under an option arrangement first announced in November, and provided a non-dilutive route to monetise Ascent's acreage, leveraging existing wells and infrastructure without requiring upfront development expenditure.

"We are delighted to have concluded this strategic licence agreement with UBC, backed by Neometals and Omaha Value," said chief executive Dave Patterson.

"This transaction addresses key US supply vulnerabilities for two designated critical minerals."

He added that the partnership offered "a low-capital, low-risk pathway to evaluate and potentially contribute to enhanced domestic supply-chain resilience," while enabling the company to "unlock multi-commodity value from lithium and potash brines without significant upfront costs."

Ascent noted that no mineral resources or reserves had yet been defined for the brine project, with any future development subject to further exploration, permitting and investment decisions.

At 1219 GMT, shares in Ascent Resources were down 5.56% at 0.43p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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