- Lithium
Chile on second stage of four-hole drill project in the world’s
highest-grade lithium jurisdiction
- Company
expects to complete additional projects for assay by end of Q3
- Lithium
demand from computerized electronics industry expected to remain strong
during coming decade, with 650 percent growth forecast
The team at Lithium Chile, Inc. (TSX.V: LITH) (OTCQB: LTMCF)
is excited by drilling progress at the company’s Salar de Ollague project in
Chile. The first core and liquid samples from a four-hole drilling program on
the property are being assayed (tested) for their potential in meeting
electronic device battery needs across the planet.
Preliminary results from the first drill hole, announced on
July 23, 2018, showed salinity in a zone between 110 and 290 meters deep.
That’s 180 meters of brine, and the assays will identify any lithium content
and determine the amount and the grade. Salars are dried lake beds, and the
underground reservoirs of salt-rich brines found below such old lake beds have
become a favorite target for mineral exploration. This is because the cost of
extracting dissolved salts like lithium, potassium and sodium from the brines
is far less than the cost of the historically favored hard rock extraction
efforts.
How strong does the lithium brine need to be? Well, lithium
brine is typically measured in parts per million (“ppm”), and this can
alternatively be expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/L). At Albemarle’s
massive lithium brine mine in the United States (http://ibn.fm/V2iZg), a
concentration of lithium between 190 and 200 ppm has been sufficient for
production. However, the first of Lithium Chile’s four drill holes is located
about a kilometer from a test well where new fluid samples were recently
assayed at 1,220 mg/L of lithium, according to a company news release (http://ibn.fm/0Ojjq). That 600
percent higher than Albermarle’s U.S. operation.
The samples taken from the first hole are being assayed at
internationally-accredited laboratory ALS Patagonia’s nearby facilities in
northern Chile for a chemical analysis that determines the concentration of
lithium in the brine. Drilling has begun at the second hole, two kilometers
southwest of the first.
The Ollague salar is 3,500 hectares (8,648.7 acres) in size.
Lithium Chile’s portfolio includes 14 salar explorations and one laguna
(surface water) complex, which makes it the largest lithium resource property
owner in Chile, outside of SQM and the government itself. Due to its high
grades and the sheer size of its lithium reserves, Chile is the most important
player in the famed Lithium Triangle of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, where 75
percent of the world’s available lithium is located. When Lithium Chile
completes the four-hole drilling project that began in June, it plans to start
similar projects at four other advanced-stage sites, potentially wrapping up
before the end of Q3.
Lithium’s critical importance to the low-heat, lightweight
batteries that supply high-energy outputs to the computerized electronics
industry make it an attractive commodity with a forecast demand-supply
imbalance that gives it a likelihood of strong pricing for the next decade.
International metals and minerals research agency Roskill predicts that overall
lithium demand will triple by 2027, with demand specific to the electronics
industry rising 650 percent (http://ibn.fm/1Go2r).
This forecast reflects a change in consumption of the
lightweight metal. While it has seen surging popularity in recent years for
items such as mobile phones and laptop computers, global politics driving
climate change policy are also creating a massive boom in electric vehicle and
hybrid production and marketing. These regulatory shifts made the automotive
industry the most influential entity affecting lithium industry forecasts last
year, according to Roskill (http://ibn.fm/d5qGO).
“The new government (of Chile) has been clear in its support
for the lithium sector and we are similarly encouraged by the strong community
support we have received. This is an exciting new growth phase for the
Company and our goal is to maximize our early-mover exploration advantage in
Chile,” Lithium Chile President and CEO Steve Cochrane stated in a June news
release (http://ibn.fm/m8Tue).
For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/LTMCF
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