Lithium demand is growing – and fast. For example, according to a MarketWatch.com report, “The automotive industry has turbocharged its investment in the electric-vehicle battery market over the last year, with cash increasingly being injected into lithium mining, according to Fitch Solutions. Over the last 18 months, a total of 21 investments were made by automakers in the upstream battery market, Fitch said. Prior to 2021, only two such investments had been made. 16 of these investments were made in the lithium industry, with the metal being key for battery production.” That’s a significant catalyst for companies, such as E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETL) (OTCQX: EEMMF), Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC) (TSX: LAC), American Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LI) (OTC: LIACF), and Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL).
Look at E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETL) (OTCQX: EEMMF), for example
E3 Lithium, Alberta’s leading lithium developer and Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology innovator today announced the increase in its inferred mineral resource to 23.4 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) contained within the newly-named Bashaw District (the “Resource”). The Bashaw District combines and expands the Clearwater Resource and Exshaw Resource areas into a consolidated resource that contains an estimated total of 59 billion m3 (59 km3) of brine formation water at an average grade of 74.5 milligram/Litre (mg/L) lithium (Figure 1).
“This increase clearly establishes E3 Lithium, and the Leduc Aquifer in this region, as being a globally-significant source of lithium,” commented Chris Doornbos, E3’s CEO. “With the combination of the Resource, and the Company’s ion-exchange direct extraction technology, E3 continues to lead Alberta on the path to becoming a major lithium producing jurisdiction. With E3’s significant resource, established social licence to operate, supportive government policy, low-risk and transparent regulatory processes, and stable tax and royalty systems, E3 is well-situated to realize commercial production of battery-grade lithium.”
The increase in the Resource is a result of the significant work completed by the E3 Lithium geology and subsurface team to improve and increase E3’s understanding of the highly saline Leduc Aquifer within the Bashaw District. The work incorporated the thorough reviews and analyses of available core samples, the addition of hundreds of digital wireline logs, 2D seismic data, additional brine sampling results, and an updated interpretation of the Leduc facies, brine and reservoir properties. This work advanced E3’s understanding of the reservoir and improved the Company’s confidence in the resource volumes. Based on this analysis, the resource area has now been defined as:
- the combination of the previously published Clearwater and Exshaw Resource Areas;
- the expansion of resource area to include additional area of the Bashaw reef trend (3,033 km2 of additional aquifer) for a new total of 5,931 km2;
Additionally, E3 has removed the production factor included in previous reports. The production factor cut-off methodology applied in previous resource estimates is considered a “modifying factor” and was removed from the updated resource estimate in accordance with NI 43-101. The modifying factors will be addressed as part of future reserves estimation 2.
In estimating the current Resource, a 2% porosity cut-off was utilized, so that areas of the aquifer at or below 2% porosity were not included in the total volume used in the calculation of the Resource. Effective porosity for the intervals above the cut-off were estimated by applying the average net to gross ratio to measurements of total porosity available from petrophysical logs and core. It was also independently estimated through a petrophysical analysis using shale volume with consistent results. Consistent with E3 Lithium’s prior resource estimates, the NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bashaw District is being prepared and will be filed on SEDAR and the Company’s website within 45 days.
The data being collected from E3’s ongoing, and previously announced, drill program will be incorporated into a potential upgrade of a portion of the Bashaw District Resource from “Inferred” to “Measured and Indicated”, as defined by the NI 43-1012. This upgrade will largely focus in the Clearwater Project Area, which is the target location of E3 Lithium’s initial commercial production facility.
Other related developments from around the markets include:
Albemarle Corporation announced today that it will release its second-quarter 2022 earnings after the NYSE closes on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. The company will hold its conference call to discuss second-quarter 2022 results on Thursday, August 4, at 9:00 a.m. ET. This call will be webcast and can be accessed through Albemarle Corporation's website.
Lithium Americas has entered a Pastos Grandes Technical Collaboration Agreement with Arena Minerals Inc. The intention of the Collaboration Agreement is to share technical information and explore opportunities for collaborating on potential development alternatives with the overall objective of optimizing the production profile of the Pastos Grandes basin. “Building our relationship with Arena Minerals is an indication of our commitment to expand and further develop our production profile in Salta, Argentina,” commented Ignacio Celorrio, President, Latin America of Lithium Americas. “Arena’s Sal de la Puna project is adjacent to our recently acquired 100%-owned Pastos Grandes project, and together, we will collaborate to develop the basin in the most sustainable and efficient way for all stakeholders.”
American Lithium Corp. announced the successful precipitation of high purity, fertilizer-quality potassium sulfate by-product from the Company’s Falchani Project. Testing confirms that in addition to producing high quality lithium compounds, SOP can be produced to potentially supply Peru with its domestic needs. Testing was completed at Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Minerals Business Unit laboratories in Sydney, Australia. The SOP produced by ANSTO from Falchani mineralization is 45% potassium and 20% sulfur and falls within the specification parameters of SOP marketed by various producers and traders of K-based fertilizers.
Piedmont Lithium, a leading, diversified developer of lithium resources critical to the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain, was added as a member of the U.S. Russell 2000®Index and the Russell Microcap Index as part of the 2022 Russell indexes reconstitution. Membership in the Russell 2000® Index, which remains in place for one year, is based on membership in the broad-market Russell 3000®Index. “We are extremely pleased to have been added as a member of the U.S. Russell 2000® Index,” said Keith Phillips, Piedmont Lithium CEO. “One of the objectives of our redomiciling in 2021 was to qualify for important stock indices that require U.S. domiciliation. Piedmont shares are now held by many index funds, including those managed by State Street, Vanguard, Blackrock, and others, and we hope that these long-term holders will support our shareholder value creation objectives in the longer-run.”
Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Pursuant to an agreement Winning Media has been paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services for E3 Lithium by E3 Lithium. We own ZERO shares of E3 Lithium. Please click here for full disclaimer.
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