LITH:CC - Lithium Chile Provides Operational Update on the Phase Two Development Program on its Salar de Arizaro Project Located in Salta Province Argentina where Field Tests from the First Step Out Well Returned Lithium Grades in Excess of 340 Mg/L
(TheNewswire)
CALGARY, ALBERTA – TheNewswire - September 14, 2022 – Lithium Chile Inc.(“Lithium Chile” or the “Company”) (TSXV:LITH) (OTC:LTMCF) is pleased to announce that it has field tested 340 mg/l fromthe first hole of its Phase Two development program at Salar deArizaro (“ Arizaro ”) - and that all aspects of thedevelopment program are progressing well. The Phase Two developmentprogram is designed to increase the Company’s previously announced1,420,000 metric tonne lithium carbonate resource and to expand thecommercial potential of the Arizaro project.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
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340 mg/l in the first explorationhole is 14% higher than the resource grade used in the Company’smaiden resource report;
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Completed two of four plannedexploration holes with a third hole underway;
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First of three planned productionholes has commenced;
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Critical fresh water well completedencountering 100 metre fresh water aquifer;
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Metallurgical studies underway todetermine best lithium extraction process.
Exploration Holes -Highlights:
The Company has completed the first two holes of itsplanned four-hole diamond drill program and is 250 metres into thethird hole (See Figure 1 for hole locations).
The first hole was drilled approximately 5 kilometersaway from the initial production test well yet encountered the brineaquifer at 357 metres, 25 metres deeper than the initial hole. Theformation was still open in coarse black sands when drilling stoppedat 465 metres as a result of the drilling rig capacity. Industryaccepted field sampling was done using the Company’s Turbospeclithium analyzer and returned assays of 340 mg/ litre of lithium. Thisgrade was 14% greater than the 298 mg/l lithium grade used in theinitial 43-101 report. Assay results are pending from the laboratorywhich will ultimately form the basis of an updated NI 43-101 resourcereport.
The second hole had a thicker halite cap thenencountered in the first hole and drilling was suspended at 400metres. The hole will be completed using our larger rotary rig whichis capable of drilling to 800 metres.
The third hole, located on the northern extension ofthe Company’s Arizaro claims, is currently at 250 metres. The halitecap appears thinner on the northern claims and consists of brokenhalite, mixed with sands and was encountered at shallower depths.Sampling has begun using a double packer system to ensure the mostaccurate results.
Diamond Drill Rigon the Salar de Arizaro
Production Holes - Highlights:
The large rotary drilling rig arrived on site two weeksago and is currently drilling the first of the three production wellsplanned for this program (See Figure 1 for hole location). As this rigis capable of deeper drilling, the Company plans to drill an 18 inchdiameter well to accommodate a 16 inch down hole pump, to asignificantly deeper depth of 800 metres. Drilling is presentlyproceeding through 160 metres depth on this initial productionwell . The Company is completing a concurrentbaseline environment impact study for a 5,000 metric tonne-per-yearproduction facility for the three production wells that will beavailable after completion of the Phase Two development program whichare expected to be completed early in the first quarter of 2023.
Rotary Rig on theSalar de Arizaro
Metallurgical Studies:
The Company is conducting metallurgical studies on2,000 litres of brine collected from the first production well completed in the First Phase Program. These testsinclude advanced chemistry studies at the Company’s recentlyestablished lab in Jujuy Province to determine best productionprocesses for lithium extraction, conducting evaporation tests todetermine concentrations that will yield optimum recovery of lithium.Evaporation tests will also allow for the precipitation of impuritiesassociated with these brines. The Company has also delivered 150litres of brine to Chengxin’s DLE facility in China for productiontests. Lithium Chile is also in the process of shipping brines toSummit Nanotech’s facility in Calgary, Alberta for initialanalysis.
Metallurgy studiesconducted on brine collected from the Company’s first productionwell in there recently established lab.
Test evaporationpools to determine best production concentrations using brinecollected from the Company’s first production well
Water Well:
The Company’s first, fresh water well has beendrilled, completed, and cased on the southern border of the Salar deArizaro. Over 100 metres of freshwater aquifer was identified.Testing has now begun on flow rates and recharge rates and this datawill be submitted to the Salta Provincial Water Ministry in support ofa future application to use a percentage of the water for lithiumcarbonate production.
Water Well on theSalar de Arizaro
Mobile Camp:
The Company’s camp on the Salar de Arizaro has beenexpanded to accommodate 50 employees as a result of significantlyexpanded operations currently underway. The camp is complete with akitchen, dining room and health & safety modules. The on-site camp allows for non-stop operations andsignificantly reduces the Company’s travel costs.
On-site camp at the Salar de Arizaro
Steve Cochrane, President & CEO comments, “I amvery pleased with the progress we have made to date expanding ourArizaro project and its potential resource, on time and on budget. Iam also very proud of our team on the ground in Salta and on Arizaro;they have accomplished everything we could have asked for indeveloping the Arizaro project and proving it has the potential to bethe next big lithium resource in Argentina”.
Figure 1 Phase TwoProgram - Well Locations, Arizaro, Argentina
CHILEAN UPDATE
Pursuant to the recent NO vote on the proposed newconstitution for Chile having occurred a week ago, Lithium Chile hasalready seen an increased interest in their Chilean assets. TheCompany has recently designed a 74-kilometer TEM geophysical programon its Llamara lithium prospect in Chile. The contract has gone outfor tender, and the program is planned to get underway in the nextmonth. Llamara has historic drill results showing lithium brines onthe property with lithium grades up to 343 mg/l.
Assay Locations,Llamara, Chile
The Company announces that it has implemented an EquityIncentive Compensation Plan (the "Plan"). The Plan is a"fixed 10%" security-based compensation plan under TSXVenture Exchange (the "Exchange") policies, pursuant towhich 19,612,185 awards may be granted. The Company receiveddisinterested shareholder approval for the Plan at the Company'sannual general and special meeting held on June 28, 2022, and approvalfrom the Exchange on August 23, 2022.
The Company has granted an aggregate of 4,000,000restricted share units (each, an "RSU") to two executiveofficers of the Company. The RSUs vest one year from the date of thegrant, and each RSU will entitle the holder to receive one commonshare of the Company for a period of five years.
Qualified Person, QA/QC Statements:
Michael Rosko, MS, PG, of Montgomery and Associates(M&A) of Santiago, Chile, is a registered geologist (CPG) inArizona, California and Texas, a registered member of the Society forMining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME No. 4064687), and a qualifiedperson as defined by National Instrument 43-101.Mr. Rosko has extensive experience in salar environments and has beena qualified person on many lithium brine projects. Mr. Rosko andM&A are completely independent of Lithium Chile. Mr. Rosko hasreviewed and approved the scientific and technical content of thisnews release.
About Lithium Chile
Lithium Chile is advancing a lithium property portfolioconsisting of 81,300 hectares covering sections of 11 salars and 2laguna complexes in Chile and 23,300 hectares in Argentina.
Lithium Chile also owns 5 properties, totaling 21,329hectares that are prospective for gold, silver and copper. Explorationefforts are continuing on Lithium Chile’s Carmona gold/silver/copperproperty which lies in the heart of the Chilean mega porphyry gold/silver/copper belt.
Lithium Chile’s common shares are listed on the TSX-Vunder the symbol “LITH” and on the OTC-BB under the symbol“LTMCF”.
To find out more about Lithium Chile Inc., pleasecontact Steven Cochrane, President and CEO via email:steve@lithiumchile.ca or Michelle DeCecco, Vice President of CorporateDevelopment via email michelle@lithiumchile.ca or at403-390-9095.
Forward Looking Statements
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONSERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSXVENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACYOF THIS RELEASE.
NOT FOR RELEASE IN THE UNITED STATES
This news release may contain certain forward-lookinginformation and forward-looking statements within the meaning ofapplicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-lookingstatements"). Generally, forward-looking statements can beidentified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as"expected", "anticipated", "aims to","plans to" or "intends to" or variations of suchwords and phrases or statements that certain actions, events orresults "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements arebased on various assumptions and factors that may prove to beincorrect, including, but not limited to, factors and assumptions withrespect to: the general stability of the economic and politicalenvironment in which the Company operates; the timely receipt ofrequired regulatory approvals; the risk that the new lithiumexploration tender processes does not yield the anticipated benefitsto the Company; the ability of the Company to obtain future financingon acceptable terms; currency, exchange and interest rates; operatingcosts; the success the Company will have in exploring its prospectsand the results from such prospects and the COVID-19 pandemic. LFG.You are cautioned that the foregoing list of material factors andassumptions is not exhaustive. Although the Company believes that theassumptions and factors on which such forward-looking statements arebased upon are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on theforward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurancethat they will prove to be correct or that any of the eventsanticipated by such forward-looking statements will transpire oroccur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derivethere from. The Company does not undertake to update anyforward-looking statements herein, except as required by applicablesecurities laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this newsrelease are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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