RE: Value9 Nov 2017 12:00
Highlights
-- Delivering on objective to transform Bacanora into a global lithium producer
-- Strategic partnership and offtake agreement for flagship Sonora lithium project in Mexico ('Sonora' and 'the Project') secured with Hanwa Co., LTD. ('Hanwa'), a leading Japan-based global trading company and one of the larger traders of battery chemicals in Japan
o Partnership provides third party validation of quality of resource, process and product and follows extensive due diligence by Hanwa covering the Project, Pilot Plant and battery grade lithium carbonate samples
-- Feasibility Study ('FS') on course to be completed in Q4 2017 and expected to confirm Sonora occupies a favourable position on the industry cost curve
-- Battery grade lithium carbonate continuously produced at the Company's Pilot Plant since May 2016 has enabled optimisation and refinement of beneficiation process for Sonora FS
-- 4,000 metre infill drilling programme completed to upgrade a portion of the current Mineral Resource from the Indicated to Measured category, in conjunction with geotechnical and hydrological drilling for the FS
o Sonora currently has a large Indicated Resource comprised of 259 Mt averaging 3,200 ppm Li for 4.5 Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent ('LCE')
o An updated resource model prepared by SRK Exploration Ltd to be included in the FS
-- Acquisition of 50% interest in, and joint operatorship of, the Zinnwald Lithium Project ('Zinnwald') in southern Saxony, Germany- provides potential entry into the thriving European lithium market, which is being driven by the automotive, renewable energy storage and chemicals industries
-- FS at Zinnwald commenced post period end:
o Bulk ore sampling work to provide samples for metallurgical testwork for the flowsheet
o Infill drilling programme planned for late 2017 to upgrade the existing resource model in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
Chairman's Statement
We are developing one of the world's largest lithium projects and I believe we are at a tipping point. We have already proved that we can produce high quality battery grade lithium at our flagship Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico, which is one of the world's larger deposits with an Indicated Mineral Resource of 4.5 million tonnes and 2.7 million tonnes Inferred of lithium resources. We have received backing from institutional investors and we have secured an agreement with one of the world's largest traders of battery chemicals.
The stand-out development was the signing of a strategic partnership and off-take agreement with leading Japanese trading house Hanwa for up to 100% of production. In our view, securing a partnership with a major trader of battery chemicals in Japan with reported net sales of more than Yen1,000 billion in 2016 provides industry validation of the large and scalable resource we have identified at Sonora; the work we have done