Advantage Lithium Reports Six-fold Resource Increase

Advantage Lithium (TSXV:AAL) rose 7 percent after it reported a six-fold increase in the inferred resource for its Argentina-based Cauchari lithium project.

According to a Wednesday (May 23) press release from Advantage, the assessment is based on phase II drilling and covers the northwest and southeast sectors of Cauchari. Its resource now stands at about 1.2 billion cubic meters of brine at average grades of 450 mg/L lithium and 4,028 mg/L potassium. That equates to 3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.

“In the span of just over a year, we have delivered a +600 percent increase to the lithium resource at our Cauchari project. This achievement reflects both the world-class nature of our project as well as the expertise and focus of the project development team in Argentina,” said David Sidoo, founder and CEO.

“We are confident that our phase III program, already underway, will continue to deliver strong results and expand the resource further. In parallel with our phase III program, Advantage will be aiming to complete a PEA in Q2 and then progress immediately to a definitive feasibility study for a potential 20,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate,” he added.

The updated resource extends to greater depths in Cauchari’s northwest and southeast sectors than the previous estimate, and grades are 18 percent higher. Advantages believes that there is potential for additional resource expansion and higher grades at the asset, particularly in the southeast region.

“This is an excellent result which we believe will continue to improve in terms of both grade and size as we move through our Phase III drill program targeting the extent of the Salar at depth,” stated Andy Robb, vice president of project development at the company. 

Looking forward, Advantage has already begun phase III drilling at Cauchari. That will include additional diamond holes in the northwest and southwest sectors of the property, and the aim will be to upgrade the project’s resource classification by Q2 2019 to support a definitive feasibility study.

Phase III is designed to “provide a combined borehole density sufficient to upgrade the current inferred resources to the Indicated and Measured categories. The Phase III drilling is also aimed at further defining resources in the Deep Sand uni,” according to the company. 

As of the end of the day on Thursday (May 24), Advantage was trading at C$1.05.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: Advantage Lithium is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.