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Pursuit Minerals Ltd (ASX: PUR) (“PUR”, “Pursuit” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide the following update on its maiden Stage 1 Drilling Program with the first results and assay samples from Drill Hole 2 (“DDH- 2”) on the Sal Rio 02 tenement.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Drillhole 2 (DDH-2) at the Sal Rio 02 tenement of the Rio Grande Sur Project, has been completed with substantial high grade intercepts of lithium brine discovered at depths as low as 484m.
- High-grade assays include the following intervals:
- 527mg/L (“milligrams per liter of Lithium”) from an interval of 263m to 265m
- 520mg/L from an interval of 63m to 65m
- 511mg/L from an interval of 159m to 161m
- 506mg/L from an interval of 121m to 123m
- Importantly, some of these grades over 500mg/L were discovered at depth and are beneath the currently calculated mineral resource estimate and are expected to add to its size and grade.
- With completion of DDH-2 the drilling crew has demobilised from site. Demobilisation and suspension of drilling activities whilst interpretting the results from the first two holes has significantly reduced expenditure levels.
- The Stage 1 Drilling Program is targeting resource growth to the existing inferred JORC resource of 251.3kt LCE @ 351mg/L1.
- Following completion of DDH-2, Company’s focus is now on production of Lithium Carbonate from 250tpa Pilot Plant in Salta.
In relation to the completion of DDH-2 at the RGS Project, Pursuit Managing Director & CEO, Aaron Revelle, said:
“The results from DDH-2 continue to be significant as we demonstrate the world class potential of the Rio Grande Sur Lithium Project. With completion of DDH-2, we are seeing consistent increases in Lithium grades to depths both through and below the current mineral resource estimate with the results confirming the potential large scale of the project which the Company anticipates will support a significant low cost, high-grade long-term Lithium carbonate operation. With outstanding high grade brine intercepts of ~500mg/L at depths of ~60m and those grades continuing to ~380m, the project is continuing to exceed our expectations.
“We continue to progress with permitting at our highly prospective Mito tenement in the north of the Rio Grande Salar which will be the location of DDH-3, with the planned location of the hole less than 2km from a neighbouring companies drill hole which achieved 900mg/l Li intercepts being some of the highest grades achieved in Argentina. The decision to drill DDH-3 will be made in 2025, following completion of the permitting process as well as the interpretation of the first 2 drill holes into the resource model which is expected to yield a significant scale where future exploration expenditure may only be warranted in more favourable market conditions.
“In the immediate term we continue works at our Lithium Carbonate Pilot Plant which remains on track to produce our first Lithium Carbonate in the coming months, with Pursuit advancing off-take discussions with multiple requests for product samples from potential off-take partners.”
High-Grade, Deep Depth Lithium Brine Assay Results
Drillhole 2 (DDH-2) of the Stage 1 drilling program was completed on site at the Rio Grande Sur Project in October 2024 having reached a depth of 500m.
Throughout the progress of Drillhole 2, the on-site geologists and drilling team were extremely encouraged by the geological units encountered across the depths of the hole. Of particular interest were 2 sections, the first between 122 and 186 meters, where a sequence of porous sandstone, occasionally interbedded with anhydrite returned lithium grades up to 511 mg/L. A second significant interval was encountered between 240-300m formed by sandstone alternating with gravel, associated with grades up to 527 gm/L of lithium. Both sections returned highly positive results for RBRC (Relative Brine Release Capacity) and Specific Yield, important factors when taking into account locations of pumping well locations for production.
Table 1 – Lithium Assays, Interval Data and Drillhole Collar
Intercepts from DDH-2 have shown highly favourable geology in line with, and exceeding expectations from historical drilling (to depths of 50m) carried out on the Rio Grande Salar. Lithium brine sample grades from the sampling of the hole are averaging above 500mg/L Li against the average grade of 351mg/L Li used to develop the current Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”). Additionally, the mineralisation extended to a depth of ~480m also well below the depth used to develop the MRE1.
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This article includes content from Pursuit Minerals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Overview
Pursuit Minerals Ltd. (ASX:PUR) is a top-tier lithium exploration and development company. The company is focused on its flagship Rio Grande Sur lithium project in the Salta Province of Argentina. The project is strategically located in an area known as the Lithium Triangle which hosts 50 percent of the global lithium resources and 40 percent of the current global lithium production. Argentina is the world’s third largest producer of lithium, behind Australia and Chile.
The project spans an area of 9,260 hectares on the Rio Grande Salar and is adjacent to several operating lithium mines and development operations, including Acradium Lithium’s Fenix lithium mine and the Olaroz lithium mine. The Rio Grande Salar holds a historical Ni 43-101 resource declared by LSC Lithium, formerly listed on the TSX prior to being acquired by Plus Petrol of 2.1 million tons (Mt) of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with an average grade of 370 milligrams per litre (mg/L). This resource was mostly obtained from shallow drilling to 100 metres.
Pursuit delivered a maiden JORC Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 251.3 kt LCE at 351 mg/L at the Rio Grande Sur project. The inferred resource relies on recent geophysical surveys and historical drilling, encompassing only a small portion of the known mineralization. Notably, excluding the highly promising Mito tenement from the current MRE highlights the unexplored potential for further resource expansion.
Pursuit has commenced its Stage 1 maiden drill program focused on upgrading the inferred resource. The drilling is anticipated to reach depths of 500 to 600 metres below surface, significantly deeper than the existing defined JORC mineral resource depth. Other companies in the region have obtained impressive results and grades of 900 mg/Li+ at depths of 500 metres, some of the highest known grades in Argentina. Pursuit expects a material resource upgrade in the second half of 2024 which will build on the inferred maiden resource.
Drill cores and packer lithium brine samples from Pursuit’s Stage 1 drilling program at the Rio Grande Sur Project.
In addition to having an attractive lithium resource, Pursuit is focused on the production of lithium carbonate to meet the supply side response to growing lithium demand. Recently, the company announced the first phase of operations of its 250 tons per annum (tpa) pilot plant to produce lithium carbonate. The plant will generate both technical and battery grade lithium carbonate at a purity of 99.95 percent, employing a conventional evaporation process.
Pursuit has submitted advanced environmental permits for the construction of the 250 tpa evaporation ponds and Stage 2 drill program at the northern tenement of the Rio Grande Sur project.
The establishment of the ponds is expected to take place in the latter part of 2024, pending environmental approvals. The ponds and the plant are planned to be situated on the Sal Rio 02 tenement enabling the possibility of initiating the first production of lithium carbonate on-site in 2025.
Pursuit is targeting continuous production at Rio Grande Salar and expects the current setup to be scalable to produce 15,000 to 20,000tpa of technical and battery grade lithium carbonate.
250-ton lithium carbonate pilot plant
The company’s focus on Argentina has several advantages. The new government, led by its president Javier Milei has signaled a market-friendly and pro-business policy shift. This should be a positive development for lithium miners given that Argentina has one of the largest lithium reserves in the world. Argentina holds 21 percent of the world’s 105 million tons of lithium resources, second only to Bolivia, according to the United States Geological Survey’s Lithium Statistics and Information 2024 report.
Lithium is in great demand driven by the growth in electric vehicles (EVs). Bloomberg NEF estimates lithium demand to jump by 225 percent to 2.6 Mt of LCE by 2030, translating into a CAGR of 16 percent. In a net-zero scenario, Bloomberg pegs the demand at 3.6 Mt of LCE by 2030, a CAGR of 19 percent.
The company remains focused on project execution that will deliver long-term shareholder value, including the completion of stage 1 drilling, JORC resource upgrade, first production of lithium carbonate and increasing production capacity to 250 tpa, and receipt of environmental permits, all within the first half of 2024.
In addition, Pursuit has identified the following catalysts over the next 12 months:
- Q3/Q4 2024: start of evaporation pond construction at Rio Grande, off-take agreement, relocation of 250 tpa pilot plant to Rio Grande.
- Q4 2024/Q1 2025: Detailed mineral resource study for commercial scale lithium carbonate operation; stage 2 drilling and JORC resource upgrade; first production from 250 tpa plant could commence as early as Q4 of 2025.
Company Highlights
- Pursuit Minerals is an ASX-listed company focused on advancing a pre-production lithium brine operation in Argentina.
- The company’s flagship Rio Grande Sur project covers 9,233 hectares on the Rio Grande Salar, in the Salta Province of Argentina located in the Lithium Triangle. The region is home to 50 percent of global lithium resources and 40 percent of world production.
- The acreage owned by Pursuit is situated within an Ni 43-101 inferred resource of 2.1 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), with an average grade of 370 milligrams per litre (mg/L) extending to a depth of 100 metres.
- Pursuit delivered a maiden JORC Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 251.3 kt LCE at 351 mg/L at the Rio Grande Sur Project. With its current Stage 1 drilling program currently underway, Pursuit is targeting a material resource upgrade in the second quarter of 2024, which will build on the recent inferred maiden resource.
- The company has commenced the first phase of operations to produce lithium carbonate at its recently commissioned pilot plant, which is expected to achieve an operational capacity of 250 tons per annum (tpa). This is a significant milestone in the journey to advance toward the first production at Rio Grande Sur.
- Despite temporary fluctuations in lithium carbonate prices, the market continues to demonstrate resilience, with long-term projections indicating a significant 225 percent surge to reach 2.6 million tons of LCE worldwide by 2030.
Key Project
Rio Grande Sur Lithium Project
The Rio Grande Sur is the company’s flagship lithium project. The project comprises five tenements that span 9,233 hectares and are located in Rio Grande Salar in Salta province, Argentina. The region has benefited from historical exploration that yielded an NI 43-101 resource of 2.19 Mt LCE @ 374 mg/L, at inferred category.
During Q4 2023, Pursuit announced a maiden JORC inferred mineral resource estimate of 251.3 kt LCE at 351 mg/L at the Rio Grande Sur project. Following this, Pursuit is currently undertaking a maiden drill program to upgrade the inferred resource. Stage 1 of the drill program will comprise four diamond drill holes on the southern tenements. The first two holes will be drilled at the Sal Rio II and Maria Magdelena tenements.
The drilling is anticipated to reach depths of 500 to 600 metres below surface, significantly deeper than the existing defined JORC mineral resource depth. The drilling commenced in Q1 2024, and Pursuit is targeting a material resource upgrade in the second quarter of 2024. Further drilling is expected following the completion of the Stage 1 program. The Stage 2 drilling program is anticipated to occur in the second half of 2024, after which Pursuit is targeting a feasibility study.
Management Team
Aaron Revelle – Chief Executive Officer
Aaron Revelle is a seasoned mining executive with experience in founding and developing natural resources companies. He has over 15 years of experience across a wide range of commodities and bringing them from deposits into production. He was the founder of Trilogy Minerals, which was acquired by Pursuit, and Centaur Resources, which focused on its flagship Pastos Grandes lithium project and was sold to Arena Minerals, and subsequently sold to Lithium Americas for over AU$300 million.
Peter Wall - Chairman
Peter Wall is a partner with Steinepreis Paganin, a leading law firm, and has rich experience in M&A, takeovers, recapitalizations, and reconstructions. He has significant expertise in various domains such as energy, resources, capital markets, and strategy. He is also the chairman of Minbos Resources.
Tom Eadie – Non-Executive Director
Tom Eadie is a director on the company board. He has over four decades of rich experience in the resource industry. Currently, he is the chairman of Alderan Resources and Southern Cross Gold. He was also the founding chairman of Syrah Resources.
Vito Interlandi – Company Secretary
Vito Interlandi is the managing partner at Nexia Melbourne and is responsible for corporate advisory. He has two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and capital markets and has served on the boards of several public and private companies.
This profile was written in collaboration with Couloir Capital.
Strategy Update and Cost Restructure
HIGHLIGHTS
- Strategic focus on scaling Envirostream, the Battery Recycling division, due to the potential of increased recycling volumes and cashflows over the years ahead
- Battery Recycling: Continued safe operations, growing volumes and operating profits, and seek partners to scale operations in line with the expected waste outlook
- Livium is well advanced on the near-term commercialisation pathways of its other technologies:
- Battery Materials: Defined pathway for development of an Australian LFP demonstration plant with funding to be secured directly into VSPC from strategic partners
- Lithium Chemicals: Complete JDA activities with MinRes, including assessment of alternate commercialisation pathways and selection of the preferred lithium product
- Restructuring of the organisation and cost reductions being undertaken with estimated annual ongoing savings of A$1.5m
Comment regarding the strategic update from Livium CEO and Managing Director, Simon Linge
"We have advanced our strategy to inflection points, with the next phases of growth for each division requiring strategic partners to underpin their growth and development. With a focus on strategic growth partners, we have reviewed our resourcing and made the decision to restructure our organisation and reduce costs.
Livium remains committed to delivering returns for shareholders. Whilst organisational changes may impact our ability to react to opportunities, right sizing the organisation assists in resetting the Company's cost base to become sustainable over this critical period."
NEAR TERM PLANS
The following activities have been identified as key to delivering value in the near term:
- Battery Recycling: Continued safe operations, growing end-of-life volumes, and seeking partners to scale operations in line with the expected waste outlook and to expand into related services
- Battery Materials: Secure funding for an Australian LFP demonstration plant from government and private strategic partners, who will invest directly into VSPC
- Lithium Chemicals: Complete JDA activities with MinRes, including assessment of alternate commercialisation pathways and selection of the preferred lithium product
- Corporate: Complete implementation of organisation restructure and other cost saving initiatives.
BATTERY RECYCLING GROWTH OUTLOOK
The Battery Recycling division generates revenue today, is the largest recycler of lithium-ion batteries in the country, draws on our technical expertise to provide value-added services and has strong commercial relationships. Strategic focus is being placed on Battery Recycling, through Envirostream, due to the potential of increased recycling volumes over the coming years.
During CY2024, Envirostream successfully increased volumes of EV' andESS2 with most of the volume being received under exclusive customer arrangements. Over CY2024, Envirostream collected 736k tonnes of large format batteries and it is estimated that there are five times these volumes available today which are increasingly expected to be recycled due to consumer demand and government regulation. In their Battery Market Analysis, B-cycle show how EV and ESS batteries are expected to dominate3.
Figure 1. EOL Battery Projections by Market Segment3
Focusing on only EV / ESS for the balance of the decade demonstrates the near-term opportunity for Envirostream collections growth relative to current performance.
Figure 2. 5-Year EV and ESS EOL Battery Projections3
The near-term outlook for Envirostream is positive, enabling increases of volumes collected and processed, and providing an opportunity to expand our service offerings in line with market requirements.
To accommodate expectations of market growth, the business intends to explore deploying growth capital to improve operating efficiencies and expand capacity. The company has appointed advisors to coordinate discussions around partnership and growth funding options, which includes both strategic partners and other financiers.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Livium Ltd, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Pursuit Minerals Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects