 | Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! |
(Kitco News) - Lithium Ionic (TSXV: LTH) (OTCQB: LTHCF) today announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) at its Itinga lithium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The project is located between the towns of Araçuaí and Itinga within Brazil’s “Lithium Valley” - a hard rock lithium district that is quickly emerging as an important global lithium producer.
The company said that the maiden MRE includes the Bandeira and Outro Lado deposits and was based on 181 diamond drill holes comprising 28,204 metres of drilling completed between April 2022 and June 2023.
According to a press release, these deposits are estimated to contain measured & indicated resources of 7.57Mt grading 1.40% Li2O, containing 261,187 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), as well as inferred resources of 11.86Mt grading 1.44% Li2O, or 421,521 tonnes of LCE.
Lithium Ionic also noted a significant expansion potential at Bandeira.
“Based on drill holes that occurred outside of the MRE, SGS identified potential for significant additional lithium-bearing mineralization at Bandeira once tighter drilling is completed in these areas, estimated to be in the range of 1.5 - 3.0Mt at grades of 1.3 - 1.6% Li2O,” it said.
The company added that the drilling program for the remainder of 2023 has been expanded to 50,000 metres to increase the size of the MRE and establish a mineral reserve estimate at Bandeira and Outro Lado, while defining a mineral resource estimate at other prospective regional targets, including the Salinas and Itira targets.
Importantly, Lithium Ionic pointed out that a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is underway and expected to be completed in Q3 2023, with the objective of accelerating a definitive feasibility study (DFS) targeted for completion by the end of 2023.
More importantly, the company noted that environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies for both deposits are underway and expected to be complete within H2 2023, at which time the applications are expected to be submitted for the respective environmental and social licenses.
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’s Grota do Cirilo project, which hosts the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the Americas.
