CleanTech Lithium (CTL) has received licences covering the entirety of its greenfield Llamara Project in Chile, stretching over 344 km2 of the so-called Lithium Triangle in northern Chile and 600km north of its two flagship projects, Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin.
Following the successful application made in Q2 2022, the company now plans to start a drilling program to test the lithium enrichment of a subsurface brine aquifer in the coming weeks.
A historical geophysical survey conducted by an oil exploration company has revealed the presence of a subsurface low resistivity zone in the project area. This zone is believed to be a brine aquifer, which has a thickness of several hundred meters.
The low resistivity zone is interpreted to be indicative of the presence of brine, which is typically a highly conductive fluid. This information can be valuable in understanding the subsurface geology of the area and can potentially impact future exploration and production activities in the area.
Although the aquifer has not yet been sampled for lithium, elevated lithium grades have been recorded in surface evaporite deposits, indicating a lithium source within the basin. Should a lithium resource be established, the miner will use Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) for processing to minimise the environmental impact of extraction.
The company noted that a private Chilean company with licences immediately west of CleanTech Lithium´s project has reported a resource of 1.2 million tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent at an average grade of 956ppm Li (peak grade of 3,560ppm Li) based on an evaporite deposit.
A geology consultant will now evaluate the lithium resource potential of near-surface evaporite minerals in the project area, with initial drilling results expected in Q2 2023.
Aldo Boitano, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Drilling programmes to expand existing resource estimates at our Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin projects are ongoing with Llamara providing additional exploration potential. We are not aware of any exploration company in the lithium sector that has progressed resource drill programmes at three projects concurrently, which further highlights the quality of the team we have in Chile.”
View from Vox
This latest news further adds to the growing potential of CleanTech Lithium’s Chilean lithium projects, with the rapid progress reflected in its shares’ up 55% since its IPO less than a year ago.
Earlier this month, the company revealed the results of a scoping study at its Laguna Verde project, which Supports the potential for Laguna Verde to become a major supplier of battery grade lithium to European and US market supplying 20,000 tonnes a year.
The company pointed to the project’s attractive economics, with low operating costs of US$3,875 per tonne of lithium carbonate expected to drive cumulative net cashflows (post-tax and royalties) of US$6.3 billion over the mine’s expected 30-year life. A pre-feasibility study is expected in the second half of this year, with first production targeted in 2025.
At Francisco Basin, a scoping study is underway and expected to complete by 1Q 2023, with an updated JORC resource estimate from new wells FB02, FB03, and FB04 to follow by the end of 1H 2023. In October, CleanTech Lithium reported a maiden JORC resource estimate of 0.53m for Francisco Basin, bringing the total LCE resource across the company's two active projects to over 2 million tonnes LCE. The new wells should support a significant expansion in that resource estimate next year.
Based on DLE technology which returns spent brine to the basin aquifers, and renewable energy for processing power via connecting with the Chilean grid, all of CleanTech’s projects will boast strong ESG credentials, an especially important factor when selling into European markets.