- Neometals Ltd and its partner, Omaha Value, Inc., have entered into an exclusivity and option agreement with American Helium LLC and Ascent Resources plc, to acquire access and use rights to inactive oil and gas wells, leases and geological data in the Paradox Basin, located in Utah, United States;
- The proposed access and use rights will allow Neometals and Omaha Value to explore for, and potentially extract and produce lithium, potash (potassium) and associated products from the brine;
- The agreement gives Neometals and Omaha Value a 60‑day exclusivity period to undertake due diligence and negotiate a definitive access and use licence; and
26 November 2025 - Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT) (“Neometals” or “the Company”), is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Neometals Energy Pty Ltd (Neometals Energy), has executed an exclusivity and option agreement together with its US partner, Omaha Value, Inc. (Omaha Value) with American Helium LLC, a private US company holding gas and helium interests (American Helium) and Ascent Resources plc (LSE:AST), an independent oil and gas exploration and production company (Ascent), giving Neometals Energy an option to secure access and usage rights over a portfolio of historical oil and gas wells in the Paradox Basin of Utah, USA (Option Agreement).
Under the Option Agreement, Neometals Energy and Omaha Value have been granted a 60-day exclusivity period (extendable by mutual agreement) to complete due diligence and determine whether they wish to exercise an option to enter a definitive access and use licence agreement (Access and Use Licence). The Access and Use Licence, if executed, would give Neometals Energy and Omaha Value access to the existing leases and wells of American Helium and Ascent for the sampling and potential commercial extraction of brines from deep, artesian reservoirs. In accessing existing well bores, Neometals and Omaha Value aim to confirm the brine chemistry of historic intersections of thick evaporite (salt) sequences and permeable clastics, hosting critical mineral rich (lithium/potassium) brines.
Omaha Value is a privately held company based in Omaha, Nebraska and through its subsidiary Utah Brine Corporation LLC (UBC), holds potash prospecting permit applications over approximately 47,000 acres in the Lisbon Valley area of the Paradox Basin (the “Utah Brine Project”). Omaha Value and Neometals are advancing discussions relating to the commercialisation of critical mineral-bearing brines in Utah, which was recently ranked above Western Australia for mining investment attractiveness by the Fraser Institute.
Potash has been added to the draft 2025 List of Critical Minerals (which also includes lithium) by the US Government Department of the Interior, enabling eligible projects to benefit from expedited permitting and access to substantial federal funding.
American Helium and Ascent Resources hold significant oil and gas leases (Covered Acreage) in Utah managed by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), which are adjacent to the Lisbon Valley natural gas processing plant.
Consideration and Key Terms - Option Agreement
An exclusivity fee of US$50,000 (US$25,500 Neometals Energy share) in aggregate is payable within five business days of execution of the Option Agreement. During the exclusivity period, customary no-shop, no-talk and no due-diligence restrictions will apply to American Helium and Ascent. American Helium and Ascent must also maintain all leases, permits, and operating authorisations in good standing and share all regulatory communications with Neometals Energy.
The parties have commenced preparation of the definitive Access and Use Licence which must be finalised in good faith and on terms that do not materially depart from the following indicative key commercial terms and other customary terms for an agreement of this nature.
Indicative Key Commercial Terms - Access and Use Licence
Item | Term |
Permitting Fee | US$1,900,000 payable by Neometals and Omaha Value on the date the relevant government authorities have granted permits allowing exclusive extraction of brine within the Covered Acreage[i] to an extent and on terms satisfactory to Neometals Energy and Omaha Value (in their absolute discretion). However, the US$1,900,000 amount is proportionally adjusted to reflect any reduction in the number of wells available on that date, as compared to the date of the Access and Use Licence. |
Annual Fee | US$200,000 payable in arrears at the end of each 12-month period following the date of the Access and Use Licence, during the term of the licence. |
Licence | An exclusive licence to, in relation to American Helium and Ascent’s relevant land rights and assets: - access and travel across American Helium and Ascent’s land rights and oil and gas leases within the Covered Acreage; - have the benefit of:
- utilise any water rights (both extraction and reinjection) or infrastructure:
- modify infrastructure to the extent necessary to enable the activities referred to above; - construct infrastructure to undertake the activities referred to above. American Helium and Ascent must also: - maintain the oil and gas leases and operating permits within the Covered Acreage and associated water rights in good standing; - renew or otherwise ensure the oil and gas leases within the Covered Acreage and associated water rights remain on foot; - provide Neometals Energy and Omaha Value with any communication received from or provided to any government agency; and - not transfer or grant any rights of access or use of the well leases, water rights or associated infrastructure to any person other than Neometals Energy or Omaha Value, or that would affect or impede the rights of access and use contemplated by this agreement. |
Royalty (GSR) | 2.5% gross smelter royalty, to be paid by Neometals Energy and Omaha Value to American Helium and Ascent from the Commercial Extraction Commencement Date (see below).[ii] |
Commercial Extraction Commencement Date | The date confirmed as the first day of the first 12-month period in which brine is extracted in a steady-state operation at a verified average rate of not less than 50,000 US standard barrels (bbl) per day. |
Deadline for Commencement of Extraction | The Access and Use Licence will automatically terminate on the seventh anniversary of the date of execution of the full form Access and Use Licence, if neither Neometals Energy nor Omaha Value has commenced extraction of brine from the relevant leases. |
Next steps
Neometals and Omaha Value will complete their technical, legal and commercial due diligence, and progress negotiation and finalisation of the Access and Use Licence with American Helium and Ascent and will continue to advance their ongoing discussions relating to the commercialisation of critical mineral-bearing brines in Utah. The Company will update the market on material developments in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.
No commitment /No assurance
The Option Agreement does not oblige any party to pursue the proposed project, nor does it guarantee that definitive agreements will be executed or the project will proceed to development or production. Progress remains subject to the completion of satisfactory due diligence, receipt of necessary permits, completion of final documentation, and securing financing and relevant investment approvals.
Neometals Managing Director Christopher Reed said:
This agreement represents an exciting opportunity to apply our downstream domain expertise in the Paradox Basin, leveraging existing well, pipeline and energy infrastructure to accelerate the evaluation of lithium and potassium potential in Utah, one of the top ranked jurisdictions worldwide for mining investment.”
Figure 1 - Utah Brine Corporation Project location
Figure 2 - Tenure Map and Agreement Well locations
Authorised for release by the Board of Neometals Ltd.
ENDS
For further information, visit www.neometals.com.au or contact:
Christopher Reed
Managing Director/CEO
Neometals Ltd
T +61 8 9322 1182
Lucas Robinson
Managing Director
Corporate Storytime
T +61 408 228 889
E: lucas@corporatestorytime.com
About Neometals Ltd
Neometals’ purpose is to deliver stakeholder value by enabling the sustainable production of critical and valuable materials essential for a cleaner future. The Company is commercialising a portfolio of low-cost sustainable processing solutions for critical materials in parallel with the exploration and development of mining operations at its Barrambie Gold Project.
The Company’s upstream mineral asset has two distinct styles of mineralisation containing precious metals and industrial minerals:
- Barrambie Gold (100% NMT) – historic high-grade gold producing area in the prolific Murchison Gold Belt, with very limited modern exploration. Maiden gold exploration target highlighted potential for camp-scale brownfields gold discoveries. Active exploration program being undertaken in 2025. Barrambie is proximal to a number of third-party processing facilities and transport infrastructure.
- Barrambie Titanium and Vanadium (100% NMT) – the world’s second highest grade hard-rock titanium deposit is currently in a divestment process.
The Company’s portfolio of processing solutions under development comprise:
- Lithium Chemicals (70% NMT) – patented ELi Process™ co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, aiming to produce battery quality lithium hydroxide and carbonate from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at lowest quartile operating costs. Successfully completed Pilot scale test work and planning industrial validation with partners including Rio Tinto and commercialisation through a technology licensing business model.
- Vanadium Recovery (100% NMT) – patent pending hydrometallurgical process, aiming to produce high-purity vanadium pentoxide from steelmaking by-product (slag) at lowest-quartile operating cost and carbon footprint, under a technology licensing business model. Project financing process for first commercial plant in progress (86.1% NMT).
[i] See ‘AHL/Ascent Oil & Gas leases’ in Figure 2 below.
[ii] If the Commercial Extraction Commencement Date has not occurred within 5 years from the date of the grant of the relevant Federal Fluids Mineral Lease that permits extraction of brine from the Covered Acreage, then the gross smelter royalty rate is increased to 3.5% from that date.