Metals One (MET1) has highlighted a recent announcement from CleanTech Lithium (CTL) that it has completed an updated resource assessment for its Laguna Verde project in Chile.
Metals One owns approximately 10.7% of CleanTech Lithium's issued share capital.
CleanTech’s Laguna Verde project is one of the six salars selected by the Chilean government to be prioritised for development by private companies.
Additional licences acquired by CleanTech have helped boost the resource at Laguna Verde to 1.9 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent at a grade of 174 mg/L lithium.
That’s a 17% increase from the previous total resource of 1.63 million tonnes of LCE, and CleanTech’s consultant reckons the resource could go higher if three additional holes were drilled.
Around 840,000 tonnes of LCE is in the measured and indicated category, and runs at a grade of 178 mg/L lithium.
The Chilean government is finalising the indigenous community consultations for Laguna Verde and it is expected that the streamlined process will be announced shortly afterwards.
CleanTech’s plan now is to move forwards with ongoing economic studies at Laguna Verde.
"As an investor in CleanTech Lithium, Metals One is very encouraged by the updated JORC-compliant resource estimate for the Laguna Verde project which underscores the strength and scale of this asset,” said Daniel Maling, managing director of Metals One.
“With the pre-feasibility study advancing, this update reinforces our view that Laguna Verde is emerging as one of Chile's most promising direct lithium extraction projects and a potential key supplier to the growing global EV and battery markets."
View from Vox
Good to see CleanTech’s shares jumping by more than nine percent on the news, as further evidence of progress is delivered to the market. It’s been hard work for CleanTech over the years, but many hurdles have now been overcome, and it could well be that Metals One has joined the party at just the right moment.