Galan Lithium has lifted the resource estimate for its 100 per cent-owned Argentine Hombre Muerto West (HMW) lithium project to 8.6 million tonnes contained lithium carbonate equivalent at 859 mg/l lithium.
The significant increase, the fourth since March 2020, amounts to an 18 per cent uplift in tonnes alongside another uptick in grade improving what was already one of the highest grade brine estimates in the country.
The 1.3 million tonne increase has resulted from the company’s inclusion of resources in its Catalina tenure and takes the HMW measured, indicated and inferred resource total to 7.87 million tonnes at an average contained lithium carbonate equivalent grade of 883mg/l lithium.
The company says its JORC compliant reclassification, undertaken by geological consultants WSP Chile, confirms the measured category sits at around 4.7 million tonnes with a contained lithium carbonate equivalent grade of 866mg/l lithium.
When combined with the company’s indicated 0.69 million tonne resource inventory at Candelas North, about 40km south-east of HMW, Galan says its total measured, indicated and inferred resource inventory is now 8.6 million tonnes at an overall average contained lithium carbonate equivalent grade of 859mg/l lithium.
Galan Lithium’s managing director Juan Pablo Vargas de la Vega, said: “This latest significant upgrade in the high grade, low impurity HMW Resource highlights the potential enormity of the brine resource that sits within Galan’s 100% owned tenements in Argentina. Coupled with our Candelas resource, Galan has a very solid foundation and, more importantly has delivered further validation that the Hombre Muerto Salar resources fully support our four-stage lithium production target of up to 60ktpa LCE.”
While the improved revision of the mineral resource does not include any specified cut-off grade, the company says its minimum 400mg/l low grade blocks in the model only comprise 0.02 per cent of the total resource.
Galan says its resource estimate was derived from 31 boreholes drilled for a total of 9043m in its elongated tenement suite along the south-western flank of the Hombre Muerto salar and involved 697 brine analyses, assayed by both Alex Stewart and SGS laboratories.
Additional supportive data included new core porosity measurements from its Santa Barbara, Casa del Inca and Del Condor tenements, while geophysical data included more than 82km of geophysical profiles employing magnetotellurics and transient electromagnetics.
This latest upgrade is another significant step for Galan towards achieving its predetermined Stage-3 conditions for producing 40 kilotonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent. Stage-4 to follow would see the company striving towards a mighty 60Kt annual production target which is planned to include feed from Candelas.
60Kt annual lithium brine production running above 800mg/t would certainly be an impressive achievement for this currently $150m market cap company.
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By Doug Bright
