The Altenberg licence covers round 42sq.km and could potentially significantly increase the mine life of the Zinnwald lithium project's life, which it completely encloses.

Bacanora said the deposits on the licence had been explored and mined historically for tin, tungsten and lithium, with historical exploration data indicating the presence of additional exploration targets.

Deutsche Lithium plans to investigate Altenberg over the next five years, combining the exploration and development with that of the nearby Zinnwald and Falkenhain licences.

It is currently busy with Zinnwald's feasibility study on track for completion in the June quarter.

The FS is focused on developing a strategy to produce higher value downstream lithium products from the Zinnwald concentrates for the European battery and automotive sectors.

Bacanora is talking to financial advisors and potential strategic partners about potentially spinning off Deutsche Lithium and listing it separately to help fund the construction of a lithium operation at Zinnwald.

CEO Peter Secker said the Altenberg licence was an "excellent addition" to the Zinnwald project, which itself was situated in the heart of the European battery and automotive sectors.

"With the FS at Zinnwald on course to be completed in Q2, we will soon have a first independent valuation for Zinnwald which we are confident will far outstrip our current market capitalisation," he said.

At Bacanora's Sonora lithium project in Mexico, it is focused on finding project funding in the June quarter, with the aim of commissioning an initial 17,500 tonnes per annum lithium carbonate operation and starting production in the second half of 2021.