Jindalee Lithium inks stewardship MoU for McDermitt project  

Jindalee Lithium (ASX: JLL) said on Tuesday its 100%-owned US subsidiary, HiTech Minerals has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RESOLVE, a nonprofit organization that convenes stakeholders and rightsholders on natural-resource and social challenges, including responsible mineral supply chains.  

The MoU establishes a framework for HiTech and RESOLVE to explore the creation of a voluntary Stewardship Area in the broader Oregon-Nevada caldera region, where HiTech is advancing the McDermitt lithium project.  

Jindalee is preparing to spin out its flagship US lithium assets into a new Nasdaq-listed company called US Elemental, and the centerpiece of the new company will be the McDermitt project on the same geological formation that hosts Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass project. 

The creation of a Stewardship Area is intended to support improved environmental outcomes for high-value habitat areas, alongside HiTech’s advancement of responsible domestic lithium development in the McDermitt Caldera, the company said.  

Under the MoU, HiTech and RESOLVE expect to engage with stakeholders and rightsholders in the region to identify potential land areas that may warrant investment, protection, restoration or other stewardship measures.  

HiTech will consider funding part of these stewardship measures agreed through the process subject to meeting McDermitt lithium project development milestones.  

Any voluntary stewardship measures identified through this process would be in addition to, and not a substitute for, HiTech’s obligations under applicable environmental laws, permitting processes and regulatory requirements. 

“HiTech recognizes the ecological, cultural and community values of the broader Oregon-Nevada McDermitt Caldera region, and the importance of advancing McDermitt in a way that is responsible, transparent and constructive,” Jindalee CEO Ian Rodger said in a news release.  

“This MoU with RESOLVE provides a practical framework to explore how domestic lithium development and long-term environmental stewardship objectives can be progressed together.” 

Rodger said the process is at an early stage, and any future Stewardship Area will need to be shaped through engagement with Tribal Nations and stakeholders, technical assessment and the ongoing permitting pathway.