** Shares of James Bay Minerals rise as much as 130% to A$0.460, their highest intraday pct gain on record

** The lithium explorer says it will acquire Battle Mountain Resources' stake in Independence Gold project at Nevada in a deal valued at A$2.4 mln ($1.62 mln)

** Says deal also consists of acquiring the remaining interest from Americas Gold Exploration over two years

** Stock hits its highest level since mid-September 2023

** Stock logs three straight sessions of gains

** Over 4.9 mln shares change hands, 110x the 30-day avg

** Stock up 11.1% YTD, including current session's moves

($1 = 1.4841 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru)

((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com;))