Highlights

  • Solis Minerals shares surged AUD 0.016, or 51.612%, to AUD 0.047 on 21 April 2026 on volume of 13,277,629 shares, following the announcement of a 100% acquisition of a 93,000-hectare district-scale lithium exploration package from a subsidiary of Rio Tinto PLC within the Araçuaí–Salinas Lithium Valley in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
  • The acquisition cost is US$500,000 with a 1.75% net smelter return (NSR) royalty. Rio Tinto's work on the tenure shows significant geochemical anomalies with auger and soil samples above 330 ppm Li — higher than the initial Latin Resources samples that supported discovery of the Colina Lithium Project, now owned by PLS Group (ASX: PLS) following a transaction valued at AUD 0.6 billion.
  • Solis Minerals has signed a Collaboration Agreement with PLS Group — its largest shareholder and the adjacent operator — providing PLS with a participation first right in any future transaction involving the tenements. The company is fully funded for the initial drilling program.

Solis Minerals (ASX:SLM) shares surged AUD 0.016, or 51.612%, to AUD 0.047 on 21 April 2026, on volume of 13,277,629 shares. The bid-offer spread was AUD 0.046 to AUD 0.047, and market capitalisation was AUD 8.13 million. The 51.6% single-session gain is one of the largest percentage moves in the company's recent trading history and reflects the market's strong response to the combination of district-scale asset acquisition, Rio Tinto provenance, PLS Group adjacency, and a low US$500,000 acquisition price relative to the geological and strategic significance of the tenure.

The Acquisition: 93,000 Hectares from Rio Tinto for US$500,000

Solis Minerals has entered into a 100% acquisition of the Brazil Lithium Project — a 93,000-hectare district-scale exploration package within the Araçuaí–Salinas Lithium Valley in Minas Gerais, Brazil — from a subsidiary of Rio Tinto PLC. The acquisition cost is US$500,000 with a 1.75% net smelter return (NSR) royalty. Rio Tinto's work on the tenure has identified significant geochemical anomalies, with auger and soil samples returning values above 330 ppm Li — higher than the initial Latin Resources samples that supported the discovery of the Colina Lithium Project.

Weathered pegmatites with spodumene pseudomorphs have been noted in float samples recorded in Rio Tinto data. Two priority targets — Mandacaru and Campo Grande — have well-defined geochemical and structural signatures suitable for immediate drill testing. Solis Minerals is fully funded for the initial drilling programme. The acquisition diversifies the company's portfolio across energy metals, complementing its advanced copper strategy in Peru.

Araçuaí–Salinas Lithium Valley: Peer Validation

The Araçuaí–Salinas Lithium Valley is one of the world's most active hard-rock lithium districts, hosting spodumene deposits within the Salinas Formation metasediments. Sigma Lithium (NASDAQ: SGML), the most advanced operator in the region, has reached full annualised production capacity of 270,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium. PLS Group (ASX: PLS) entered the valley in February 2025 through its AUD 0.6 billion acquisition of Latin Resources and its Colina Lithium Project. Lithium Ionic (TSX.V: LTH) completed a feasibility study in September 2025 demonstrating an 18.5-year mine life and production of 177,000 tonnes per annum.

The Solis Minerals tenure is adjacent to PLS Group's lithium tenure — key context given that the Solis Minerals team delivered strong exploration outcomes at the PLS tenure in prior roles and has deep technical and regulatory experience of the district. This adjacency underpins the collaboration agreement structure with PLS.

PLS Collaboration Agreement and Exploration Strategy

Solis Minerals has signed a Collaboration Agreement with PLS Group — its largest shareholder — which provides PLS with a participation first right in relation to any future transaction involving the tenements on the same terms as any proposed counterparty. This structure is commercially logical given PLS's existing investment in Solis Minerals and its adjacent operational position in the valley, and aligns the interests of the two companies across the exploration and development continuum.

Solis Minerals intends to move immediately to initiate surface exploration, including mapping, geochemical sampling, and geophysics, to refine priority drill targets. The first-pass programme is designed to advance the concession package toward scout drilling at Mandacaru and Campo Grande. The company anticipates that early fieldwork will clarify target definition and help prioritise areas demonstrating the strongest potential for lithium-bearing pegmatites. A placement of approximately AUD 979,500 at AUD 0.05 per share has been received to support the expanded exploration programme.

Conclusion

Solis Minerals' announcement of a 93,000-hectare Rio Tinto lithium asset acquisition within the Araçuaí–Salinas Lithium Valley for US$500,000, adjacent to PLS Group's existing tenure and underpinned by Rio Tinto's geochemical data and a signed PLS collaboration agreement, drove a 51.612% session gain to AUD 0.047 on 13.28 million shares and a market cap of AUD 8.13 million. The low acquisition cost, peer-validated district geology, and immediate drill-readiness of priority targets represent the core appeal of the transaction for market participants.