Savannah Upgrades Lithium Resource for Mina do Barroso

Diversified miner Savannah Resources (LSE:SAV) has increased the resource estimate for its Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal by 44 percent, the company announced on Monday (September 10).

The overall mineral resource estimate for the asset now stands at 20.1 million tonnes at 1.04 percent lithium oxide for 209,000 tonnes of contained lithium oxide, with the Grandao deposit increasing by 64 percent to 16.4 million tonnes at 1.04 percent lithium oxide.

“Today’s mineral resource estimate increase, shows that Mina do Barroso is shaping up to be Europe’s most strategically significant mineral discovery in recent years,” David Archer, CEO of Savannah, said.

This is the third mineral resource estimate upgrade for the Portuguese project in less than seven months, with potential to expand the estimate even further, according to the company.

“The increasing mineral resource base of the project means we have a long-life asset that can anchor the upstream end of the European lithium value chain, with Europe being the second largest consumer of lithium in the world,” Archer added.

Additionally, the company announced an updated exploration target for Mina do Barroso, calculated at 9 to 15 million tonnes at 1-1.2 percent lithium oxide, giving a potential mineral inventory of over 30 million tonnes for the project.

“Alongside this, at a commercialization level we are making good progress with the feasibility study and continue to target making a mine development decision next year,” Archer said.

The portuguese project will produce spodumene concentrate from hard-rock lithium. The company is looking to start production by 2020.

Aside from the Mina do Barroso in Portugal, Savannah is developing two lithium projects in Finland and copper assets in Oman.

The company has also partnered with mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO, LSE:RIO) to develop the Mutamba Mineral Sands project in Mozambique.

On Monday, shares of Savannah were up 1.8 percent in London, closing at GBX 8.50.

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