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Lithium Power International Limited (ASX: LPI) (LPI or the Company), through its Joint Venture (JV) company, Minera Salar Blanco S.A. (MSB), is pleased to provide details of the updated resource for the Maricunga Stage One project in Chile.
Highlight
- Updated Measured and Indicated resource for the Maricunga Stage One Lithium Brine Project in Chile confirmed an increase by 90 per cent compared with 2019 Definitive Feasibility Study.
- Measured and Indicated (M&I) resource now estimated as 1,905,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) for the Stage One (Old Code) mining properties at an average grade of 953 mg/l lithium.
- This increase in M+I Resources is in addition to the M+I Resources (2018) of 184 Kt Lithium (979 Kt LCE) in the Litio 1-6 (New Code) concessions to a depth of 200 m.
- The Maricunga resource remains open at depth, with a new exploration target for further resource expansion between 400m-550m in the Stage One concessions.
- The DFS update for the Stage One continues as expected by Worley, GEA Messo and Atacama Waters.
- The latest drilling for the resource increase on the Stage One mining concessions at Maricunga has been completed, with the five exploration core holes each reaching target depth of 400m.
Access to the full technical report prepared by Atacama Water Consultants is available on the LPI website at https://lithiumpowerinternational.com/maricunga-ch...
Lithium Power International's Chief Executive Officer, Cristobal Garcia-Huidobro, commented: "We are very pleased with these updated results, which confirm Maricunga as one of the world's richest lithium brine deposits. Technical activities continue towards the completion of an updated DFS in Q4 2021. The financing for Stage One is now a priority, with preliminary indications of interest received from international financial institutions and private funds for debt and equity financing of the project."
Resource Estimate Highlights
The updated resource estimate of 1,905,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) represents close to double the initial resource of 1,020,000 tonnes of LCE in the equivalent area (Stage One) in the 2019 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). A resource equivalent to 4.95 Mt of KCl was also defined. The resource estimate was prepared in accordance with JORC and NI 43-101 international reporting standards. Results are summarised in Table 1.
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LTHHF
Spodumene Pegmatite Discovery at Esperança Project in Brazil Yields LIBS Results up to 4.04% Li2O
The discovery has been made during early-stage exploration programs which include project scale geological mapping, ground reconnaissance, and soil sampling. These early-stage programs remain ongoing with further results to come over the coming weeks. The discovery supports the Company’s exploration thesis and uplifts the remaining prospectivity across all three project areas: Canabrava, Caraíbas and Esperança projects.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Artisanal excavations reveal a lithium bearing pegmatite with elongate crystalline spodumene crystals up to 50cm in length
- LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) results of spodumene crystals return up to 18,800 ppm Lithium, or 4.04% Li2O
- Discovery provides walk up drill target for fully funded drilling campaign to begin Q1 2025
- Soil sampling and geological mapping continues across the Esperança, Canabrava and Caraíbas projects with further results due over the coming weeks
Lightning Minerals Managing Director Alex Biggs said, “I am highly encouraged by these results from Brazil. As I have spoken about, as a team we are committed to discovery and completing our works in a diligent and structured manner, the proof of which is in these results. The Company is progressing its projects in Brazil quickly and cost effectively and generating significant results for the business which we feel will be transformational. I am proud of and congratulate our geology teams both in Australia and Brazil who have conducted themselves in a professional and astute manner which has been crucial in making a discovery such as this. This is a great first step for us in Brazil and is testament to the prospectivity of the region as I have discussed previously. We look forward to drilling in Q1 2025 and further results to come imminently from all three project areas in Brazil. I would also like to thank our shareholders who have supported our vision and exploration strategy. As a Company we are firmly committed to the lithium thematic and firmly committed to Brazil where we see significant potential moving forwards”.
Lithium Discovery at Esperança Project
During geological mapping fieldwork conducted in mid-November 2024 field geologists encountered a previously unknown historical artisanal mine within the Esperança project area. The site presented with a small access which opened into a set of sub vertical shafts sunk several meters into schists of the Salinas formation. Upon investigation the geology team has discovered pegmatitic lithologies in the walls of the excavations, of which the suite of minerals indicates inclusion of macro crystalline (up to 50cm) elongate crystals of spodumene as shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b).
Figure 1a (left): Brazilian geologist Vitor Araujo Alves showing the spodumene rich portion of the zoned pegmatite discovered at the Esperança Property. Figure 1b (right): Large elongate spodumene crystals (Spd) up to 50cm in length showing homogeneous growth patterns amongst a quartz (Qtz) and Feldspar (Fdsp) rich matrix
The Company’s geologists have collected selective mineral specimen grab samples in sample VLM207 (Figure 2). Six separate minerals have been analysed via a SciAps Z-903 hand-held LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) device which has returned lithium endowment of up to 18,800 ppm lithium, which equates to a lithium oxide percentage of 4.04% Li2O.
The SciAps Z-903 handheld LIBS device is considered a qualitative analysis technique only and is used as an in-field preliminary check to establish if a mineral is lithium-bearing. Certified laboratory assays are required to provide accurate, quantitative analysis. A table of the six SciAps Z-903 handheld LIBS results testing the spodumene crystals is shown in Table 1. A full table of results are presented in Appendix 2, Table 2.
While the current field observations indicate that the mineral identified is a lithium-bearing mineral, the percentage of lithium produced from the LIBS analyser does not correlate to an accurate quantitative measurement of the lithium concentration of the mineral itself, or to the overall grade of the pegmatite.
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