Liontown’s Centenario lithium project farm‑in: key points for mine planners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Liontown Limited has signed a staged farm-in with NEXT Lithium Corp. to acquire up to 100% of the Centenario lithium brine project in Argentina via NEXT’s Australian subsidiary, Vertex Holdings. The structure includes an initial $5 million cash payment, $10 million in Liontown shares and a $15 million, two‑year work programme focused on drilling targets defined by transient electromagnetic surveys, earning Liontown an effective 49% interest. Located near the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes and Centenario-Ratones projects, each targeting up to 150,000 t/y lithium carbonate, Centenario gives Liontown brine exposure alongside its Kathleen Valley hardrock operation.
Technical Brief
- Farm-in is structured in four phases over four years via acquisition of Vertex Holdings.
- Initial consideration comprises $5 million cash plus $10 million in Liontown shares on completion.
- Phase 4 requires Liontown to acquire 100% of Vertex if it elects to proceed to phase 3.
- Liontown’s $15 million, two‑year work programme centres on drilling anomalies from transient electromagnetic surveys.
- Staged structure explicitly links further capital deployment to exploration results rather than fixed spend commitments.
- NEXT Lithium retains operational brine expertise in Argentina while transitioning into a Liontown shareholding position.
Our Take
Liontown’s move into the Centenario lithium brine exploration project in Argentina diversifies its lithium portfolio beyond the hard‑rock Kathleen Valley operation in Western Australia, which in our database is already undergoing expansion and long‑lead procurement for higher throughput.
The staged four‑phase, four‑year farm‑in structure with an initial US$15 million work programme is modest relative to the scale of offtake commitments linked to Kathleen Valley in our coverage, suggesting Liontown is testing Latin American brines without over‑levering its balance sheet while ramping Australian production.
With lithium and lithium carbonate appearing across more than 100 keyword‑matched pieces in our database, Liontown’s combination of spodumene supply from Kathleen Valley and potential brine‑sourced lithium carbonate from Centenario positions it to respond to different parts of the battery supply chain as pricing cycles shift between feedstocks.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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