Red Dirt Metals: Racing to Unlock the Lithium Potential of Mt Ida and Mt Universe

• Red Dirt Metals has a granted mining license to develop a lithium project in Western Australia, with plans to start mining in 2024.
• The company is focused on fast-tracking approvals to start mining at Mt Ida, with the aim of producing the first ore before the end of 2024.
• Red Dirt is also exploring a large lithium project called Mt Universe, with potential for a very large resource. The first drilling results were positive.
• The company has a strong, experienced team focused on starting the Mt Ida mine, and an exploration team actively drilling to expand resources.
• Red Dirt is fully funded, with around A$60m cash, and has shareholder alignment through performance rights linked to starting mining and growing resources.

Australian lithium developer Red Dirt Metals (ASX:RDT) aims to capitalise on surging lithium demand by fast-tracking its Mt Ida project in WA into production. While progressing Mt Ida to generate initial cash flows, Red Dirt is also aggressively exploring its exciting new Mt Universe discovery which shows potential to be a world-class lithium deposit.

Fast-Tracking Mt Ida into Production

Red Dirt's primary focus is on developing a mining operation at Mt Ida, located in the Goldfields region of WA near Kalgoorlie. Mt Ida has hosted small-scale gold mining since the 1930s. Importantly, the location provides established infrastructure like roads, power, water, and an experienced local workforce to support a new mining operation.

Targeting First Production Within 12 Months

Red Dirt has built up a resource estimate of 10Mt @ 1.0% Li2O at Mt Ida and sees strong potential for resource growth. The company plans to lodge mining approval applications within weeks, targeting the start of mining operations within 12 months. Red Dirt Managing Director John Hannaford emphasised the tight timeline, stating "we feel the need for speed, this is a hypersonic missile".

Simple Start-Up Supporting Early Cash Flow

The initial mining will focus on near-surface, higher-grade areas. This will support a simple direct shipping ore (DSO) operation, with crushed ore trucked to port for export. "We’ll blast it, dig it, crush it, screen it, and collect substantial revenue," Hannaford explained. Cash flows will fund ongoing development.

At the same time, Red Dirt is conducting studies for a larger-scale concentrator operation to process lower-grade material. The aim is to position Mt Ida as a long-life project to support expanded production over multiple cycles. Ongoing drilling continues to grow resources to extend potential mine life.

Major Discovery Potential

While progressing Mt Ida, Red Dirt acquired the lithium project in September 2022. It is located 200km from Mt Ida and initial drilling results have been highly encouraging. The very first hole intersected a 55m zone grading 1.1% Li2O from the surface.

It contains over 50 mapped pegmatites within a portion of the large 300km2 tenement area. Geological studies suggest the potential for very large lithium resources. Hannaford described it as potentially "something people are going to talk about across the world" and emphasised the scale would significantly exceed 10-15Mt.

Red Dirt has committed to 90,000m of drilling at Mt Universe in 2023 to delineate an initial resource estimate by year-end. Early results suggest it could emerge as a world-class lithium deposit. The company is already evaluating locations for a potential large-scale mining operation.

The Investment Thesis for Red Dirt Metals

• Near-term lithium production potential from Mt Ida provides cash flow and proves execution capability.
• Exploration upside through aggressive drilling across multiple targets can deliver substantial resource growth.
• An exciting new discovery with the potential to be a company-making world-scale lithium deposit.
• Strong leadership team with a track record of successfully developing mines in Western Australia.
• Strategic vision to become a mid-tier lithium producer with a global presence.
• Fully funded and aligned management via performance incentives.
• Excellent exposure to forecast growth in lithium demand from the surging EV industry.

Red Dirt Metals offers investors an attractive exposure to the lithium thematic via a portfolio combining near-term production potential and world-class exploration upside. The pace of activity across its projects provides strong potential catalysts for share price gains in 2023.