The Weyburn area continues to lead the way when it comes to potential lithium extraction. The provincial government’s public offering of subsurface minerals on July 7th, the first of the fiscal year, saw a nearly 13,000-hectare parcel in the Weyburn area get picked up by Millennium Land, Ltd for just over $27,000.
In all, there was just over $1 million in revenue for the province generated in the sale, which saw four of the 11 listed permits receiving bids. All four of the bids had a focus on lithium, as they were all noted as being prospective for lithium in formation water.
The biggest bid was also from Millennium Land, as they put up $984,451 for a 2,852-hectare block north of Weyburn. The other two bids were from Inland Country Earth Consulting. They put forward a bid of $6,286 for a 3,854-hectare block in the Estevan area, and $5,887 for a 3,507-hectare parcel southeast of Radville.
Southeast Saskatchewan is becoming a hub for activity in the lithium sector due to the geology of the region, and transferrable skills from the oil and gas sector. In a written release, the Ministry of Energy and Resources stated lithium is one of the 27 critical minerals found in Saskatchewan.
“Lithium will play a key role in the province achieving the goals outlined in Saskatchewan’s Critical Minerals Strategy, including doubling the number of critical minerals being produced in Saskatchewan and increasing Saskatchewan’s share of Canadian mineral exploration spending to 15 per cent, all by 2030,” the release read.
The offering was the first of three scheduled for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The next offering is scheduled for November.