Under terms of the deal, Cypress will acquire a 50% interest in Dajin's 145 claims and application for water rights in Alkali Spring Valley, in return for US$50,000 cash and 150,000 Cypress common shares, to be issued on TSXV approval. It will issue Dajin another 150,000 shares 12 months after receiving exchange approval, at which time a joint venture will be formed.

Besides exploring for lithium in Alkali Spring Valley, the JV presents potential synergies with Cypress' flagship Clayton Valley lithium project, mainly regarding access to water - something that is exceptionally hard to come by in the arid region.

The project is 11km from Albemarle's Silver Peak operation, North America's only producing brine lithium mine.

Cypress recently completed an oversubscribed C$2 million private placement, which will enable it to complete upcoming milestones for Clayton Valley, including more drilling, a metallurgical study, and a pre-feasibility study, as well as to pursue exploration and the water rights application in collaboration with Dajin.

Elsewhere in Nevada, Dajin remains focused on drilling its Teels Marsh project, where it has secured water rights. The company also has significant landholdings in Argentina, where it has partnered with Toronto-based LSC Lithium (TSXV:LSC) on the 550ha Salinas Grandes project.

The companies plan to capitalise on strong fundamentals for lithium, as the electric vehicle revolution gains traction. According to bullish forecasts, the current 200,000t/y lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) market is expected to expand to about 36Mt by 2040, and up to 100 million tonnes LCE by 2050.