08:56 AM EST, 01/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Cruz Battery Metals ( BKTPF ) on Friday said it plans to buy the 580-acre Central Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project located in Esmeralda County, Nevada from arm's length vendors for $115,000.

The company said this new project consists of 29 claims completely surrounded by SLB's (formerly Schlumberger Limited) Clayton Valley lithium brine project. Cruz will now have a footprint of 820 acres prospective for lithium brine in Clayton Valley, Nevada.

"We are very pleased to acquire this project at a time when SLB has successfully completed the 100% earn-in of Pure Energy Ltd.'s Clayton Valley lithium brine project and has recently demonstrated successful ongoing, high purity direct lithium extraction (DLE) production from this basin," said Cruz Battery President James Nelson.

"In addition, the incoming Trump administration brings with it a lot of 'Made in America' sentiment. It's clear that a reduction of USA reliance on foreign resources will be a priority for the Trump administration. We believe this will provide a tail wind in the demand for domestic lithium production. As Albemarle's Clayton Valley Lithium Brine operation is currently the only lithium production in North America, we see this opportunity as a potential major catalyst for other lithium players to build up a domestic resource with what will be seemingly less regulatory restrictions and political red tape to go through. Management is excited as we enter a period of increased corporate activity in 2025 and the potential growth this year may bring for Cruz shareholders," Nelson continued.

Nelson added that "despite the ferociously negative sentiment around lithium and EV's over the last two years, the recent data clearly shows that EV sales are increasing and the momentum for EV sales globally is in fact strengthening, not weakening. Therefore, we feel domestically sourced lithium projects in 2025 will garner significantly more market interest than the previous two years."

Shares of the company closed down $0.0050 or 12%, to $0.0350 on Thursday on the Canadian Securities Exchange.