One of the lesser known chemicals -- and most useful -- lithium is currently being sought after by more and more mining companies for its healing properties; not the least of which in the treatment of migraine and cluster headaches.
It is also widely used as a coolant for heat transfer applications, as well as in lithium ion batteries, in which a typical cell can generate approximately three volts, compared with 2.1 volts for lead/acid or 1.5 volts for zinc-carbon cells.
Plainly stated, lithium is there to be had and promises riches for those who find it. So, it was newsworthy in late March when Nevada-based AmeriLithium Corp. (OTCBB:AMEL) told investors it had acquired a 100% NRI (Net Revenue Interest) in the assets of the Wagin Salt Lakes Property in Wagin, Western Australia.
Spread over 43,000-plus Acres, Wagin is made up of three projects being, Bare Rock Project, Nomans Lake Project and the Hoffmans Hill Project. The three projects lie within the South West Mineral Field, an area identified as being rich in brine deposits and a key site for global lithium extraction.
AMEL's Wagin Salt Lakes Property comprises of 55 graticule blocks. All are within areas of significant potential for lithium brine extraction, being placed upon salt lake systems with high soluble lithium values of up to 530 milligrams/litre (equivalent to 5.1 kilograms of lithium carbonate per cubic meter of brine) and extremely favorable drainage systems.
This puts the area on a level with the world's largest lithium deposits in South America, making it an extremely significant site for the global lithium industry.
Last week -- specifically, on St. Patrick’s Day – AMEL struck what it may deem a "lucky" deal, purchasing a 100% interest of the ironically-named Americana Property in the Canadian province of Alberta. This 600,000-plus-acre property is considered as potentially rich in lithium as certain areas of Nevada, the business’ home state.
The total resource estimate for potentially economic lithium present in the two formations in Alberta totals more than 567,000 tons.
AmeriLithium -- known until early March as Kodiak International Inc. -- avows two goals that should be music to the ears of investors and environmentalists alike. It seeks to secure sustainable, ecologically sound domestic energy sources that maximize shareholder value, "while contributing to a greener U.S. tomorrow."
The company boasts in its literature that lithium power presents an "unrivalled investment opportunity that is set to touch almost every part of future industries." AMEL adds it is "set to lead the way in a marketplace of unparalleled opportunity, guaranteed growth and assured government backing."
Besides the change the company has experienced in just the last few weeks, AMEL’s stock price has waxed and waned like the surface of the Moon, or so it seems, vaulting to a high of $3.00 on March 16 from a gulch of 90 cents only a few days earlier.
The day after the Australian announcement, the price was located somewhere in the middle, around $1.65, low enough for potential investors to catch their breaths and more realistically assess the future prospects for this company, hoping to capitalize on the future of lithium, and its many uses.
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