Lithium Ionic Corp. (TSXV: LTH; OTCQX:
LTHCF; FSE: H3N) (“Lithium Ionic” or the “Company”), is pleased to
announce an initial NI 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate
(“MRE”) for its Salinas Lithium Project (“Salinas” or the
“Project”), increasing its global mineral resources by 45%. The
Salinas property covers 662 hectares or ~4.5% of Lithium Ionic’s
large 14,182-hectare land package within the “Lithium Valley” in
Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and represents the third NI 43-101
compliant lithium MRE the Company has established to date. The
“Lithium Valley” is a unique geological belt that hosts a
significant concentration of lithium-bearing pegmatites, which are
among the largest and highest grade in the world. The Company’s
properties are located in a district that is quickly emerging as an
important global lithium producer.
The MRE was prepared by GE21 Consultoria Mineral
Ltda. (“GE21”) in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
Salinas MRE Highlights:
- Measured and Indicated (“M&I”)
MRE of 5.86 million tonnes (“Mt”) at an average grade of 1.09%
Li₂O, with an additional 8.90Mt of Inferred MRE grading 0.97% Li₂O,
for a total of 14.76Mt.
- The MRE demonstrates rapid growth in
a short timeframe. The estimate is based on 122 drill holes, or
27,030 metres, drilled between May and November
2023.
- GE21 has identified potential for
significant mineral resource growth from additional lithium-rich
spodumene mineralization at Salinas, including the recently
discovered high-grade Noe target announced on February 6, 2024,
which returned a highlight of 1.63% Li₂O over
5.60m.
- Exploration and drilling will
continue at Salinas throughout 2024 with an upgraded and expanded
MRE for Salinas expected in Q4 2024.
- The Salinas MRE significantly
increases the Company’s consolidated, global mineral resources by
45% to 47.8Mt* with planned exploration programs at existing
deposits, Salinas and Bandeira, as well as other regional targets,
expected to support significant further mineral resource
growth.
- GE21 has been engaged to initiate a
Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) at Salinas, which is
expected for completion in H2 2024 with the objective to accelerate
directly to a Feasibility Study.
- The Company intends to select a
suitable consultant in the near-term to initiate the permitting
process and the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) study for
Salinas. A target of Q1 2025 has been established for the
completion of the EIA.
*See the following NI 43-101
compliant technical reports related to Lithium Ionic’s two other
deposits: “Mineral Resource Estimate for Lithium Ionic, Itinga
Project” (effective date of June 24, 2023; authored by Maxime
Dupéré, B. Sc., P.Geo. and Faisal Sayeed, B. Sc., P.Geo.) and
“Bandeira Project Araçuaí and Itinga, Minas Gerais State, Brazil”
(effective date of August 30, 2023; authored by Carlos José
Evangelista Silva, MSc Geo., MAIG)
Blake Hylands, P.Geo., CEO of Lithium Ionic,
commented, “The initial mineral resource at Salinas marks a
significant milestone for us, establishing the Project as another
cornerstone asset for the Company. When we acquired the Salinas
properties 12 months ago, we recognized the capacity for these
claims to quickly and significantly scale our resource base, and
it’s very exciting for us to see this materialize. Our exploration
team is confident that the initial discoveries at Salinas are just
the beginning, and the next phase of drilling is underway to reveal
the full scope of the potential. While our focus remains on
near-term production at Bandeira, we now have another meaningful
deposit to advance in parallel.”
Carlos Costa, P.Geo., Lithium Ionic’s VP of
Exploration, commented, “This maiden NI 43-101 mineral resource
estimate at a third project site is a major achievement for Lithium
Ionic and I am very proud of what our exploration team has
accomplished in only eight months. Our efforts will continue over
the next year, with a focus on significantly expanding upon the
excellent foundation established at both Salinas and Bandeira. We
are one of the only lithium companies in the region with large
lithium deposits being delineated at multiple sites. Within our
large land package in the Lithium Valley, it is our belief that we
will continue to identify additional deposits over time and
continue to grow our resources to a globally important scale.”
Salinas Lithium Project – Initial
Mineral Resource Estimate
Strong Foundation with Outstanding Scale
Potential
The Salinas Project is located in the
lithium-rich Araçuaí Pegmatite District, in the northern part of
the Eastern Brazilian Pegmatite Province, which hosts the largest
lithium reserves in Brazil.
Salinas is situated approximately 100 kilometres
north of the Bandeira Project where feasibility studies are being
finalized, and approximately 20 kilometres east of the Salinas
municipality, a town of approximately 40,000 people (see location
map in Figure 1).
The Salinas MRE contain M&I resources of
5.86Mt grading 1.09% Li₂O, containing 158,678 tonnes of Lithium
Carbonate Equivalent (“LCE”), the benchmark equivalent raw material
used in the lithium industry, along with Inferred resources of
8.90Mt grading 0.97% Li₂O in the Inferred category, or 214,572
tonnes of LCE (see MRE results in Table 1). The MRE is based on 122
diamond drill holes comprising 27,030 metres of drilling completed
between May 2023 and November 2023. An additional 24 holes (6,001
metres) have been drilled since then.
GE21 collaborated closely with the Company’s
geological team to confirm the presence of a series of North-East
trending moderately SE dipping pegmatite veins extending up to
1,200 meters along strike, from surface to a depth of approximately
300 meters (see isometric view of the Salinas deposit in Figure
2).
In addition to the MRE, GE21 analyzed results
from drill holes located outside of the mineral resource area in
the newly discovered Noé target (see Figure 1), which is believed
to be the northeast extension of a large outcropping pegmatite that
has been mined for spodumene intermittently for several decades
called “Lavra do Zoe”. This pegmatite body is at least 15 metres
thick and has a strike length of at least 210 metres.
Based on the initial drilling to date, GE21 has
identified the Noé target as having strong near-term potential to
further increase the MRE by between 10-15Mt with grades ranging
from 1.0-1.3% Li2O following the completion of additional
drilling*.
Exploration work and drilling will be ongoing at
Salinas for the remainder of 2024 to continue to expand and upgrade
the mineral resources. An upgraded MRE for Salinas is expected
later this year.
The NI 43-101 technical report for the MRE, will
be accessible on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company’s
issuer profile and the Company’s website within 45 days of this
news release.
*The potential quantity and grade of the lithium
mineralization at the Noé target is conceptual in nature and there
has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource or
Reserve and it is uncertain if further exploration will confirm the
target ranges.
Table 1: Salinas Mineral Resource
Estimate Summary
Deposit / |
Category |
Resource (tonnes) |
Grade |
Contained LCE (t) |
Cut-Off Grade |
(% Li2O) |
|
|
|
|
|
SalinasOpen-Pit*(0.5%
cut-off) |
Measured |
940,000 |
1.22 |
28,360 |
Indicated |
3,140,000 |
1.11 |
86,194 |
Measured + Indicated |
4,080,000 |
1.14 |
114,554 |
Inferred |
5,540,000 |
0.99 |
135,634 |
|
|
|
|
|
SalinasUnderground(0.5%
cut-off) |
Measured |
170,000 |
0.93 |
3,910 |
Indicated |
1,610,000 |
1.01 |
40,213 |
Measured + Indicated |
1,780,000 |
1.00 |
44,123 |
Inferred |
3,360,000 |
0.95 |
78,938 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
Measured |
1,110,000 |
1.18 |
32,270 |
Indicated |
4,750,000 |
1.08 |
126,407 |
Measured + Indicated |
5,860,000 |
1.09 |
158,678 |
Inferred |
8,900,000 |
0.97 |
214,572 |
(*) SR limited to 18
- The spodumene pegmatite domains were modeled using composites
with Li2O grades greater than 0.3%
- The mineral resource estimates were prepared in accordance with
the CIM Standards, and the CIM Guidelines, using geostatistical
and/or classical methods, plus economic and mining parameters
appropriate to the deposit.
- Mineral Resources are not ore reserves and are not demonstrably
economically recoverable.
- Grades reported using dry density.
- The effective date of the MRE is January 4, 2024.
- The QP responsible for the MRE is geologist Leonardo Soares
(MAIG #5180).
- The MRE numbers provided have been rounded to the estimate
relative precision. Values cannot be added due to rounding.
- The MRE is delimited by Lithium Ionic Baixa Grande Target
Claims (ANM).
- The MRE was estimated using ordinary kriging in 16m x 16m x 4m
blocks.
- The MRE report table was produced in Leapfrog Geo
software.
- The reported MRE only contains fresh rock domains.
- The MRE was restricted by a pit shell using a selling price of
2750 US$/t Conc., Mining cost of 2.50 US$/ton mined, processing
cost of 12.50 US$/ ton ROM and a selling cost of 112.56 US$/t
conc.
Figure 1. Salinas Project Location
View Figure 1
here: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0e3bc4e8-7e5b-4fe1-a18e-6ee825d0650f
Figure 2. Isometric View of the Salinas
Deposit
View Figure 2
here: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/26a3415f-224a-4ac0-b89c-f8bc119c940f
Salinas PEA Underway
Independent Brazilian consultancy, GE21
Consultoria Mineral Ltda , based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais,
has been engaged to carry out a PEA based on the Salinas MRE. The
PEA is planned for completion in H2 2024.
Salinas Permitting process underway with
EIA completion expected in 2025
The Company is in the process of selecting a
suitable consultant to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment
(“EIA”) study for the Salinas property, which will contain an
analysis of the Project’s potential environmental and social
impacts. Following the completion of the EIA which is expected in
Q1 2025, the Company can apply for the “Prior License” (“LP” or
Licença Prévia in Portuguese), the first stage of the environmental
licensing process for mining projects in Brazil.
Details related to the calculation of the
MRE
The MRE was prepared by Leonardo Soares, P.Geo.,
M.Sc., of GE21 (the “Author” or “QP”) with an effective date of
January 4, 2024.
The MRE was prepared using the following
geological and resource block modeling parameters which are based
on geological interpretations, geostatistical studies, and best
practices in mineral estimation.
The QP is not aware of any factors or issues
that materially affect the MRE other than normal risks faced by
mining projects in the province in terms of environmental,
permitting, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, and political
factors, and additional risk factors regarding inferred
resources.
- The Project
geology comprises Neoproterozoic age sedimentary rocks of Araçuaí
Orogen intruded by fertile Li-bearing pegmatites originated by
fractionation of magmatic fluids from the peraluminous S-type
post-tectonic granitoids of Araçuaí Orogen. Lithium mineralization
is related to concordant and discordant swarms of spodumene-bearing
tabular pegmatites hosted by cordierite-biotite-quartz
schists.
- Drilling
conducted by Lithium Ionic included diamond core drilling of NTW
(64.2mm diameter).
- Diamond core has
been sampled in intervals of ~ 1 m where possible, otherwise
intervals less than 1 m have been selected based on geological
boundaries. Geological boundaries have not been crossed by sample
intervals. ½ core samples have been collected and submitted for
analysis, with regular field duplicate samples collected and
submitted for QA/QC analysis.
- Drill core
samples were submitted to SGS Geosol laboratories in Brazil where
they were analyzed for a 31-element suite via ICP90A (fusion by
sodium peroxide and finish with ICP- MS/ICP-OES). Assay data were
composited to 1 m.
- The MRE was
estimated from the diamond drill holes completed by Lithium Ionic
from May 2023 until November 2023. Data from a total of 122 drill
holes comprising 3,276 assays were included in the mineral
resources model.
- The 3D modelling of
lithium Mineral Resources was conducted using a minimum cut-off
grade of 0.3% Li2O within a preliminary lithological model.
- The interpolation
was conducted using Krigging methodology with three interpolation
passes.
- The block model was
defined by a block size of 5 m long by 5 m wide by 5 m thick and
covers a strike length of approximately 1,200 m to a maximal
vertical depth of 300 m below surface.
- The MRE was
classified as Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource
based on data quality, sample spacing, and pegmatite continuity.
The Measured Mineral Resource was defined using a search ellipsoid
of 50 m by 50 m by 30 m, and where the continuity and
predictability of the mineralized units was reasonable. The
Indicated Mineral Resource was defined using a search ellipsoid 100
m by 100 m by 50 m. The Inferred Mineral Resource was assigned to
areas where drill hole spacing was greater than 100 m by 100 m by
50 m for all remaining blocks.
- Classification
focused on spatial relation using a minimum of five composites in
at least three different drill holes for the Measured and Indicated
resources.
- Validation has
proven that the block model fairly reflects the underlying data
inputs. Variability over distance is relatively moderate to low for
this deposit type therefore the maximum classification level is
Indicated.
- Mineralization
at the deposits extends to surface and is expected to be suitable
for open cut mining; no minimum mining width was applied; internal
mining dilution is limited to internal barren pegmatite and/or host
rock intervals within the mineralized pegmatite intervals; based on
these assumptions, it is considered that there are no mining
factors which are likely to affect the assumption that the deposit
has reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.
- It is the QP’s
opinion that the current classification used is adequate and
reliable for this type of mineralization and MRE.
- Initial
Metallurgical tests results are not available at this stage of
project advancement. An assumed concentrate (DMS) recovery of 65%
has been applied in determining reasonable prospects of eventual
economic extraction.
- Mineral Resources
were constrained within the boundaries of an optimized pit shell
using the following constraints: Concentrate price: USD$2,750;
mining costs: USD$2.5/t ROM; Processing costs: USD$12.5/t ROM,
General/Admin: USD$4.0/t ROM, Lithium Recovery: 65%, Mining
Recovery: 95% and Pit slope: 60°.
- The MRE reported is
a global estimate with reasonable prospects of eventual economic
extraction.
Bandeira Feasibility Study
Update
A Feasibility Study for Bandeira is currently
being finalized by AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin). Results
were recently presented to the Company, which were in line with
guidance and expectations, however certain aspects of the study
require additional work to meet the standard of accuracy expected
at a feasibility level study. Further detail is being developed on
installed equipment costs to ensure the capital estimate meets a
level of precision suitable for project financing. While the CAPEX
of the Project is not expected to be materially different from the
PEA results, this additional work will increase the certainty of
the economic model and better support the transition to the
execution phase of the project. AtkinsRéalis has indicated that
they require approximately 4-6 weeks from today’s date to complete
this additional work. The Company is capitalizing on this
additional time to complete further metallurgical process tests to
optimize dense media recoveries. Losses associated with fines
during the crushing stage are typical in DMS (Dense Media
Separation) circuits, however the Company is exploring solutions to
maximize the recoveries of these fines to further enhance the
project. The completion of the Feasibility Study is now expected in
May 2024.
Helio Diniz, President of Lithium Ionic,
commented, “The Feasibility Study is nearing completion, with
results aligning closely with our expectations and projections. Our
current focus is on ensuring that the quality and level of detail
of the study meets our expected standard, while also exploring
every avenue for project optimization before advancing to the next
stages of development. We are confident that this diligent work
will result in a highly accurate and reliable study that will
support a seamless transition to the execution phase of the
project.”
Bandeira Environmental Licence
On-Track
The review of the Concomitant Environmental and
Installation License (“LAC”, or Licença Ambiental Concomitante in
Portuguese) application for the Bandeira Project is well underway
by the Minas Gerais State Department of Environment and Sustainable
Development ("SEMAD”). Since submitting the application in November
2023 (see press release dated November 21, 2023), Lithium Ionic has
engaged in productive discussions with SEMAD, during which no
significant concerns or issues were highlighted. The license is
expected to be granted in early Q3 2024, aligning with our
projected timeline.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of
Lithium Ionic Corp.
Blake HylandsChief Executive Officer,
Director
About Lithium Ionic Corp.
Lithium Ionic is a Canadian mining company
exploring and developing its lithium properties in Brazil. Its
flagship Itinga and Salinas projects cover 14,182 hectares in the
northeastern part of Minas Gerais state, a mining-friendly
jurisdiction that is quickly emerging as a world-class hard-rock
lithium district. The Itinga Project is situated in the same region
as CBL’s Cachoeira lithium mine, which has produced lithium for +30
years, as well as Sigma Lithium Corp.’s Grota do Cirilo project,
which hosts the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the
Americas.
Qualified Persons
Leonardo Soares, P.Geo., M.Sc., of GE21 is a
Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 And has reviewed and
approved the technical information and data regarding the MRE
included in this news release. Mr. Soares is independent of Lithium
Ionic. All other scientific and technical information in this news
release has been prepared by Carlos Costa, Vice President
Exploration of Lithium Ionic and Blake Hylands, CEO and director of
Lithium Ionic, and both are “qualified persons” as defined in NI
43-101.
Investor and Media
Inquiries:
+1 647.316.2500info@lithiumionic.com
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that
constitute “forward-statements.” Such forward looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or
achievements, or developments to differ materially from the
anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company
believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors,
current conditions and expected future developments and other
factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations
reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue
reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give
no assurance that they will prove to be correct. When used in this
press release, the words “estimate”, “project”, “belief”,
“anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “predict”, “may” or
“should” and the negative of these words or such variations thereon
or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking
statements and information. The forward-looking statements and
information in this press release include information relating to
the prospectivity of the Company’s mineral properties including
Salinas and Bandeira, the Company’s ability to produce a NI 43-101
compliant mineral resource estimate, PEA and/or Feasibility study
and the timing thereof, the Company’s ability to obtain the
requisite licences and permits, the economic viability of the
Bandeira project, the Company’s ability to obtain adequate
financing, the mineralization and development of the Company’s
mineral properties, the Company’s exploration program and other
mining projects and prospects thereof and the Company’s future
plans. Such statements and information reflect the current view of
the Company. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results
to differ materially from those contemplated in those
forward-looking statements and information. By their nature,
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results,
performance or achievements, or other future events, to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news
release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date
of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after
such date. Readers should not place undue importance on
forward-looking information and should not rely upon this
information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event
that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors,
should change.
Information and links in this press release
relating to other mineral resource companies are from their sources
believed to be reliable, but that have not been independently
verified by the Company.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
press release.
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