Bluejay, an exploration and development company with projects in Greenland and Finland, has signed a joint venture agreement (JV) with KoBold Metals, at the company’s Disko-Nuussuaq nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum magmatic massive sulphide project in Central West Greenland.
Overseen by Bill Gates and backed by investors who include Michael Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos and Ray Dalio, KoBold’s purpose is looking to discover and develop new “ethical sources” of the critical materials for electric vehicles.
As part of the agreement, KoBold will earn 51% of the Disko-Nuussuaq license holding through a two stage earn-in commitment. Stage I involves advanced geological and geophysical evaluation of Disko-Nuussuaq to refine drill targets using KoBold’s proprietary technology and is $3.4 million sole-funded by December 31, 2022. Stage II will be sole funded by either US$11.6 million in drilling expenditure or 15 pre-agreed drill holes within the Disko license area by December 31, 2024.
Bluejay can maintain its 49% shareholding by funding its pro-rata commitment after Stage II.
Should KoBold complete Stage I work but fail to complete the drilling commitment in Stage II before December 31, 2024, 2% of the JV company and thereby control will revert to Bluejay with both parties subject to continuing standard dilution methodology.
“The Disko region has seen the rare convergence of events in earth’s history that could have resulted in forming a world-class battery metal deposit,” said Kurt House, CEO for KoBold “KoBold’s technology is perfectly suited to discovering new resources at Disko. Our proprietary library of analytical tools, Machine Prospector, will enable effective deployment of exploration capital and maximize our chances of discovery at Disko-Nuussuaq.”
Previous studies highlight a strong correlation between the Norilsk massive sulphide emplacement in Siberia, which is a rich nickel and palladium deposit, and Disko. Bluejay has undertaken multiple work campaigns, undertaking aerial surveys, extensive geochemical sampling using the most modern analytical techniques with ultra-low sensitivity as well as soil gas hydrocarbon sampling. These new “deep-penetrating” geochemical and gas surveys have for the first time provided metal anomaly signals coincident with previously identified large-scale geophysical responses.
