LTMCF - Lithium Chile Signs Letter of Intent with Monumental Minerals to JV up to 75% of the Drill Ready Salar De Laguna Blanca Chile Cesium Salt-Lithium Brine Project from Lithium Chile Inc.
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NEAR SURFACE SEDIMENT SAMPLESASSAYING UP TO
692 PPM CESIUM AND 1450 PPMLITHIUM.
CALGARY, ALBERTA - TheNewswire - March 9, 2022 - Lithium Chile Inc.(“ LITHIUM CHILE ” or the “ Company ”) (TSXV:LITH) (OTC:LTMCF) is pleased toannounce that the Company has entered into an arm’s length letter ofintent ( “ LOI ”) with Monumental Minerals Corp. (“ Monumental ”)(TSX-V: MNRL; FSE: BE5) to acquire up to 75% of the 5200-hectare SalarDe Laguna Blanca project (the “ Laguna Project ”) located near the town ofSan Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
The Laguna Project is located within the prolificlithium triangle, a zone within the central Andes high desert thatincludes Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. This zone is estimated tocontain more than half of the world’s lithium supply beneath themany salt flats, also known as salars, that are common to the region.The Laguna Project includes both active and paleo salar brines andsalts (Fig. 1). The Laguna Blanca property consists of 23 exploration concessionstotaling 5,200 hectares, 100% owned by Lithium Chile through itswholly owned Chilean subsidiary Minera Kairos Chile Limitada(“ Minera Kairos ”) (Fig. 2).
The Laguna Project is an early exploration stageproject that is accessible from the town of San Pedro de Atacama, 80kilometres to the west via the paved road 27CH to the north end ofSalar de Aguas Calientes then a truck accessible trail heading northto the interior of the property. Travel time from San Pedro de Atacamato the property is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Between April 2018 and June 2021 Minera Kairoscompleted preliminary reconnaissance and detailed geochemical andgeophysical surveys:
• Follow up sediment geochemical andsurface water surveys covered the bulk of the active salar - lagunacomplex and adjacent paleo salts and sediments. Laboratory analysis ofthe sediment samples range from 75 – 692 ppm cesium and 250 – 1450ppm lithium outline a large area of cesium enrichment of about 9 km2,which is open to the NE and SE. Water samples taken from the surfacelagunas and subsurface sample from shallow 0.5 – 1.3m deep handauger holes range from 20 – 40 mg/l cesium plus 780 – 1230 mg/llithium from assay results.
• A 13-line kilometer reconnaissance TEMsurvey covering the active salar-laguna complex and its adjacent SWflank. This survey identified a 100-200m thick, 10 km2 highconductivity TEM anomaly which underlies the SW flank of the lithium– cesium anomaly.
• Bulk brine samples are currently beingtested for lithium extraction.
President & CEO, Steve Cochrane remarks “The Laguna Blanca lithiumjoint venture is a great opportunity for both Lithium Chile andMonumental. This JV allows our Company to advance one of it’s morepromising projects in Chile while still allowing the company to focusit resources on advancing and building on it’s initial 43-201compliant resource on our Arizaro property. The large portfolio ofprojects the Company has in Chile allows us to bring in experiencedpartners that will help develop these projects more rapidly than wecould do on our own.”
Figure 1. Photo of the (a) activesalar showing lithium rich brines in the north central sector of theproperty and (b) the paleo-salar area of Laguna Blanca looking to thesouthwest.
Figure 2. Laguna Blanca - 23exploration concessions totaling 5,200 hectares, 100% owned by LithiumChile through its wholly owned Chilean subsidiary Minera Kairos ChileLimitada.
About Cesium
Currently, almost the entire global cesium supply comesfrom the Tanco mine, a hard rock deposit in Manitoba, Canada. Thelargest consumer of cesium is the oil and gas exploration sector.Cesium formate is added to drilling fluids to lubricate drill bits, tobring rock cuttings to the surface, and to prevent blowouts in highpressure wells. Cesium is also critical in the 5G communicationrevolution, as it is critical in atomic clocks that keep vastcommunication networks in sync for internet of things (IoT)functions.
About Critical Metals
The US government has identified lithium and selectrare earth elements (REEs) as critical metals, and there is currentlya strong push to curtail the US reliance of these metals from sourcesthat are not politically friendly. On February 22, 2022, US PresidentJoe Biden announced government financial incentives for both lithiumand REE producers to develop downstream processing and refining ofREEs and lithium. Additionally, a bi-partisan US senate bill recentlypassed, which would make it illegal for US defense contractors toprocure REEs from China. Monumental Minerals is positioned to play asignificant role in lithium and REE stability and sustainably in theAmericas.
About Lithium
Over the past year, the spot price for lithium hasincreased by over 550% (Fig. 3). The price of the metal has out pacedevery other metal. The only other commodities with a similar priceappreciation trajectory are rare earth elements used in the productionof high-performance magnets for electric motors (neodymium (Nd),praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy), and terbium (Tb)). The driverfor the lithium price explosion is widely believed to be due toincreases in demand for the manufacturing of EV batteries, asautomakers transition their fleets to EVs. According to AdamasIntelligence, a record 25,921 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent(LCE) were used to manufacture EV batteries for passenger vehiclesglobally in December 2021.
Figure 3. The lithium carbonate spotprice over the past 12 months has appreciated by over 550%. Price unitis yuan/tonne.
Terms of the Proposed Transaction
Subject to the execution of a definitive agreement(“ DefinitiveAgreement ”), Monumental will have the optionto earn-in up to a 75% interest in the Laguna Project by issuing toLithium Chile that number of common shares of Monumental that wouldresult in Lithium Chile holding, on a non-diluted basis (after anypotential financing in connection with or related to this potentialtransaction), 9.9% of the issue and outstanding common shares ofMonumental (the “ Payment Shares ”). In addition, Monumental must make certain staged cashpayments to Lithium Chile and incur exploration expenditures on theLaguna Project as follows:
(a) Make cash payments of an aggregate ofC$1,500,000 according to the following schedule:
(i) $200,000 within fifteen (15) days offinal TSX Venture Exchange approval of this proposed transaction (the“Acceptance Date”);
(ii) $250,000 on or before the eighteen (18)month anniversary of the Acceptance Date;
(iii) $300,000 on or before the secondanniversary of the Acceptance Date; and
(iv) $750,000 on or before the thirdanniversary of the Acceptance Date.
(b) Incur minimum expenditures on the LagunaProject of not less than an aggregate of C$1,500,000 according to thefollowing schedule:
(v) $200,000 on or before the firstanniversary of the Acceptance Date;
(vi) $500,000 on or before the secondanniversary of the Acceptance Date; and
(vii) $800,000 on or before the thirdanniversary of the Acceptance Date.
Subject to the exercise of the option to acquire 75% ofthe Laguna Project, Lithium Chile would retain a 1% net smelterreturns royalty payable upon the commercial production of the LagunaProject. In addition to the statutory hold period of four months and aday from the date of issuance, the Payment Shares will be subject to a12-month voluntary hold period from the date of issuance. UponMonumental earning a 75% interest in the Laguna Project, Monumentaland Lithium Chile will use commercially reasonable efforts tonegotiate and execute a joint venture agreement for the purpose ofjointly carrying out exploration, evaluation, and development of theLaguna Project.
Further details regarding the proposed transaction withLithium Chile will be provided in a comprehensive news release if, andwhen, the parties enter into the Definitive Agreement. The proposedtransaction between Monumental and Lithium Chile is subject to, amongother things, the execution of the Definitive Agreement and TSXVenture Exchange approval.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information contained inthis news release has been reviewed and approved by Terry Walker,M.Sc., P.Geo, Vice President of Exploration, a Director of the Companyand a “Qualified Person” as defined in National Instrument 43-101– Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Lithium Chile
Lithium Chile is advancing a lithium property portfolioconsisting of 69,200 hectares covering sections of 10 salars and twolaguna complexes in Chile and 23,300 hectares in Argentina.
Lithium Chile also owns 5 properties, totaling 20,429hectares, that are prospective for gold, silver and copper.Exploration efforts are continuing on Lithium Chile’s Carmonagold/silver/copper property which lies in the heart of the Chileanmega 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 , Jose deCastro Alem, Argentina Manager via email jdecastroalem@gmail.com orMichelle DeCecco, Vice President of Corporate Development via email michelle@lithiumchile.ca or at403-390-9095.
NEITHER THE TSXVENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM ISDEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTSRESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release may contain certainforward-looking information and forward-looking statements within themeaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively"forward-looking statements"). Generally, forward-lookingstatements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminologysuch as "expected", "anticipated", "aimsto", "plans to" or "intends to" or variationsof such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, eventsor results "will" occur. In particular, this news releasecontains forward-looking statements relating to, the entering into ofdefinitive agreements and regulatory body approvals. Suchforward-looking statements are based on various assumptions andfactors that may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to,factors and assumptions with respect to: the general stability of theeconomic and political environment in which the Company operates; thetimely receipt of required regulatory approvals; the ability of theCompany to obtain future financing on acceptable terms; currency,exchange and interest rates; operating costs; the success the Companywill have in exploring its prospects and the results from suchprospects. You are cautioned that the foregoing list of materialfactors and assumptions is not exhaustive. Although the Companybelieves that the assumptions and factors on which suchforward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue relianceshould not be placed on the forward-looking statements because theCompany can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct orthat any of the events anticipated by such forward-looking statementswill transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits theCompany will derive there from. Actual results could differ materiallyfrom those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risksincluding, but not limited to: fluctuations in market conditions,including securities markets; economic factors; the risk that the newlithium or cesium exploration tender processes does not yield theanticipated benefits to the Company, including the risk that theCompany will not receive the approvals necessary and the impact ofgeneral economic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Companydoes not undertake to update any forward-looking statements herein,except as required by applicable securities laws. All forward-lookingstatements contained in this news release are expressly qualified bythis cautionary statement.
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