- Assay
work underway to complete five-hole exploration project at Chile’s
northeastern border
- Assay
of first Lithium Chile exploratory hole has returned results rivaling
other companies’ projects in neighboring Argentina
- Lithium
Chile holds one of the largest lithium land holdings in a country that has
about 50 percent of the world’s reserves
After securing one of the largest lithium land holdings in
one of the largest lithium-producing nations on Earth, mineral explorer Lithium
Chile Inc. (TSX.V: LITH) (OTCQB: LTMCF) is expecting good news resulting from
its drilling program near Chile’s northeastern border with Bolivia.
The region known widely as the ‘Lithium Triangle’ has become
renowned for exploration and extraction of the lightweight metal, which is much
sought-after for its heat-resistant properties in computer-driving batteries —
particularly the large ones in use in electric vehicle engines, as those EVs
are gaining a pollution-fighting gravitas worldwide.
Lithium Chile’s current five-hole program at a dried salt
lake bed near the village of Ollague is being assayed, with results from the
first hole fueling hopes that the zone will become a significant mineralization
site for the company.
A fifth drill site was added to the original four-hole
project last month based on findings from the first hole that showed increasing
grades of lithium as the drill reached lower depths. The drilling of the original
holes was terminated at 250 meters in accordance with the surface rights
contract negotiated with the community of Ollague, but the additional fifth
hole was approved to go to 500 meters (http://ibn.fm/Pe3ia).
Assay results from the other four holes have not yet been
released, but the company stated that the results from the first hole showed
lithium concentrations on par with the average grades in Argentina, which
shares the Lithium Triangle’s borders with Chile and Bolivia.
Chile is home to about half of the world’s identified
reserves of lithium and has traditionally been the world’s largest producer,
although Australia overtook Chile for the top producer spot last year,
according to Mining.com (http://ibn.fm/zYcDi),
amid debate in Chile over the cumulative impact of loosely measured water
rights granted to copper and lithium miners in the world’s most arid desert,
according to Reuters (http://ibn.fm/uij3R).
New quota agreements finalized this year with the only two companies currently
extracting lithium from the Salar de Atacama, the salt bed with 81 percent of
the country’s reserves, are expected to boost Chile back into the top position,
according to the report.
Lithium clearly has a key economic importance to Chile, and
the government has been friendly to explorers, despite the concerns about water
rights and additional concerns about how some of the salt brines are being
processed. The country generally provides nearly 40 percent of the world’s
supply of lithium and, by 2025, can expect to be producing about 45 percent of
the predicted 484,000 tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE)
global demand, according to Leonidas Osses Sagredo, the president of the
Commission on Lithium at Chile’s Institute of Mine Engineers (http://ibn.fm/Lkogm). That
figure alone shows the rosy expectations for lithium demand, given that, in
2017, the worldwide market for lithium was estimated at 37,000 tons, which is
equal to 197,000 tons of LCE, according to his report.
Lithium Chile’s portfolio covers 152,900 hectares (377,824
acres), where 14 dry salars and one wet laguna complex are located, including
6,600 hectares (16,309 acres) in the Salar de Atacama. The company has
announced plans to conduct similar drill hole explorations at four of its
advanced-stage projects once work is completed at the Salar de Ollague.
For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/LTMCF
About QualityStocks
QualityStocks is
committed to connecting subscribers with companies that have huge potential to
succeed in the short and long-term future. It is part of our mission statement
to help the investment community discover emerging companies that offer
excellent growth potential. We offer several ways for investors to learn more
about investing in these companies as well as find and evaluate them.
QualityStocks (QS)
Scottsdale, Arizona
www.QualityStocks.com
480.374.1336 Office
Editor@QualityStocks.com
Scottsdale, Arizona
www.QualityStocks.com
480.374.1336 Office
Editor@QualityStocks.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the
QualityStocks website applicable to all content provided by QS, wherever
published or re-republished: http://www.qualitystocks.net/disclaimer.php

No comments:
Post a Comment