NEW
YORK, NY, August 12, 2016 /Sector Newswire/ -
American Lithium Corp. (TSX-V: LI) (US Listing: MNIKF) (Frankfurt:
5LA)
announced this week the Company has received assays from the
recently completed 6 initial shallow (2 m) auger drill holes on the
North Bowl Playa in its Fish Lake Valley
lithium brine project, Esmeralda County, Nevada (see excerpt copy of
that release further below). Assays of the samples returned
lithium values from 25 to 389 mg/L Lithium and 58 to 2210 mg/L
Boron. These holes are part of a comprehensive Drill Program at its
Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine Property; the Company is moving
forward with sonic drilling to test deeper aquifers with the 13
permitted drill sites this month. The Company has plans to follow-up
with a NI 43-101 report on the Fish Lake Lithium Brine Project project by the end of 2016.
The CEO of American
Lithium recently commented "We are
confident that Fish Lake Valley will become one of the largest
lithium brine basins in Nevada."
Earlier this year American Lithium assembled 100% control of a contiguous lithium brine land package in Fish Lake
Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada, totaling 18,552 acres, and
considered by many to be the most prospective lithium-brine project
in North America. At Fish Lake Valley American Lithium Corp. is developing a lithium brine project
with
world-class potential,
approximately 25 km from Albemarle's Silver Peak (the only
commercially producing lithium project in North America). American
Lithium Corp.'s fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine claims
encompassing both the South and North bowl structures,
Fish Lake Valley is believed
analogous to the neighboring Clayton Valley (home to
Albemarle, Pure Energy Minerals, and Lithium X), both valleys have
similar hydrothermal enrichment models. American Lithium's Fish Lake
Valley Project is advanced-stage and lithium values are encouraging
enough for the Company to start to delineate the resource in the
sediments of the brines. How big this gets is where things get
interesting; the project exhibits hallmarks of major lithium
resource presence with the footprint, scope, and scalability that
will allow the Company to create a large critical mass presence
-- something the market is thirsting for as global industrial
manufactures look to ensure they have adequate domestic supplies of
lithium to satisfy growing demands.
American Lithium Corp. is the dominant
lithium claim holder in Fish Lake Valley, and with the addition of
the 2,240 acre San Emidio Project, located 100 km NE of Reno to its
portfolio this May-2016, and the 1,540 acre Clayton-Valley-1 Project
(announced July 5, 2016), part of the original Clayton Valley playa,
strategically located approximately 250 meters from Albemarle's
lithium property, American Lithium Corp. now has a total of 22,332
acres of lithium brine claims in Nevada.
The Company is spearheaded by an experienced
management team that is no stranger to major success, having
individually employed well-timed visionary big-picture strategies at
other companies. The team behind LI.V now was part of the same group
that that were involved, long before the current lithium rush ever
happened, with Pure Energy Minerals in its early-days; Pure Energy
was recapitalized and advanced its flagship to resource (PE now
hosts an inferred lithium resource of 816,000 LCE). Other past
successes include major oil sand projects (e.g. Osum Oil Sands Corp.
which attained a multi-billion dollar market cap) -- In short, American
Lithium shareholders are in solid hands of people that are proven,
technically savvy, responsible, prudent and plan with large-scale in
mind.
Fig. 2.
(above)
American Lithium's
Fish Lake Valley playa, in area of anomalous lithium /
boron / potash brine mineralization. |
American
Lithium Corp. has ~42.3 million shares outstanding (post recent C$2
million financing), ~51.8M fully-diluted. The market cap is
miniscule relative to the potential and the current share price
presents an opportunity for shareholders to reap large returns as
the Company advances to de-risk the Fish Valley Asset this
H2-2016 and prove its resource merit. Li values at the Fish Lake
Valley Lithium Project to date are comparable on par with those
found at projects in Clayton Valley such as Albemarle (Silver Peak)
and Pure Energy Minerals, more importantly the values are at a much
shallower depth of almost from surface to 140 feet. By focusing
initially on the shallows the Company will aim to advance/re-risk
the Project quickly and relatively inexpensively, then as
encouraging results come in, potentially turn the shallows into a
resource/reserve and move out deeper.
This H1-2016 American Lithium Corp. announced the acquisition of
the different pieces that make up the Fish Lake Valley land package
that encompass the entirety of key structures of the South and North
bowls, which contain the lithium-rich laden brines, and where
gravity data shows distinct gravity lows. Previous owners included
project generators that had been holding on to these coveted assets
individually, waiting for the right suitor capable of meaningfully
advancing the project with a cohesive strategy. In the North bowl American Lithium
now has 100% control via 100% earn-in interest, with initial
principal consideration already issued and development plan in place
to attain 100%. In the South bowl the Company controls 100% via 80%
earn-in interest.
. |
A robust hydrothermal enrichment
situation exists in Fish Lake Valley
Neighboring Pure Energy has
developed a model in Clayton Valley whereby Li
concentrations are hydrothermally enriched along
different fault lines, and so too, similarly, has American
Lithium Corp. from the data collected at Fish Lake Valley.
Past explorers of the two bowls in Fish Lake Valley
approached from differing focus/perspectives; the south
bowl playa and surrounding area was explored
for the most part structurally (chasing other minerals), mapping
structures in the process. The north bowl playa had been
explored mainly peripherally (in the shallows, around
the main body of the basin) for Lithium with great success, however
past operators were not in a position to develop or explore further
inward. American Lithium Corp. has the wherewithal to advance
this to fruition and has the advantage of combining the
data sets from both past explorers (which relate
directly to each other) and correlate it to the
understanding of the enrichment model that Pure Energy
has proven.
|
Figure 3
a, b, & c (above);
a) Annotated area location map highlighting topographics,
Northern Esmeralda County Nevada, lithium-bearing rocks
in the ranges drain into the basins.
b) Inset (upper
right); location map (click
to access via Google maps).
c) Inset (lower left);
gravity data shows a distinct gravity low (blue - violet
color) in the heart of the Fish Lake Valley bowls.
Summary of
Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine Claims (18,552 contiguous acres)
Figure 4. (above)
American Lithium Corp.'s Fish Lake Valley Claims
(18,552 contiguous acres). Fish Lake Valley is
one of the most promising and largely
undeveloped lithium brine basins in the State of
Nevada. |
Below is an overview of
each section of the assembly that makes up the Fish Lake Valley
Lithium-Brine Project claims
1) The North bowl playa (7,840 acres):
Figure 5a.
North bowl
|
North bowl playa claims:
Fig. 5b (above) Partial map of near Surface
Brine & Direct Push Drill Sample Locations,
see NI 43-101
technical report [PDF] for expanded version,
results, and analysis. In
short, the Li values are quality, on par with
Albemarle and Pure Energy Minerals.
Note
how the drill holes (marked as blue dots) act as
post marks, in the shallows, around the main
body of the basin. Past operators were prevented
from testing deeper due to wet conditions and
needed to construct road access to go further
inward. American Lithium Corp. will build access
roads further in. |
Summary of North bowl playa claims
going into the 2016 exploration program: The valley fill sediments are thought to be 300
to 600 meters (985 to 1970 feet) thick at Fish Lake Valley based on
the borehole and gravity data available. Data extracted from the
43-101 Technical Report on the Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine
Project, November 30, 2015 indicate Lithium in sediments ranging in
concentration from 116 ppm to 1040 ppm (average 540.7 ppm), boron
from 110 ppm to 4070 ppm (average 1772 ppm), potassium from 0.7% to
2.24% (average 1.53%), and magnesium from 0.35% to 6.37% (average
2.09%). Sodium is abundant on the property with values ranging from
0.47% to >10% (upper detection limit). Brines tested to date also
contain anomalous concentrations of the above listed elements, with
lithium ranging from 0.81 mg/L to 150 mg/L, boron from <1 mg/L to
2670 mg/L, potassium from 30 to 13300 mg/L, and magnesium from 0.116
mg/L to 41.5 mg/L. In all, approximately 1080 meters (3545 feet) of
direct push drilling was completed within 41 holes drilled at 25
sites. Depths probed ranged from 13.11 meters (43.01 feet) to 47.24
meters (154.99 feet). In addition 42 brine samples have been
collected from hand held auger holes and surface waters. The
property has proven to contain economically interesting
lithium/boron/potassium brine mineralization. Important to note is
that there is near total absence of magnesium in the brines, which
is excellent as high levels of magnesium are problematic (costs go
up significantly) when it
comes to a production scenario due to its similarity to lithium.
Fig.
5c (above)
Sonic drill – northeast section of playa
looking northeast - 2012. |
2) The South bowl playa
(2,882 acres,
A.K.A. the 'Atlantis' claims):
The entity vending the Atlantis claims to American Lithium Corp.
made the decision to acquire Atlantis after a review of geological
mapping that showed the presence of lithium-bearing rocks in the
ranges draining into the Property, and historical ground gravity
data that showed a distinct gravity low in the heart of the Atlantis
claims. The gravity low was interpreted as a strong indication for
the presence of a sub-basin that could host lithium-bearing brines.
Dr. John Oldow's more detailed gravity survey work in Esmeralda
County in recent years better defined the historical gravity low as
a deep, sub-basin, which led to the staking additional claims at
Atlantis in January 2016, to expand the Property. Geophysical
exploration at Atlantis in the form of additional gravity and
electromagnetic surveys would assist in determining if conductive
brines might be present at depth, followed by exploratory drilling
of interpreted geophysical targets. As part of a regional lithium
exploration program, the United States Geological Survey ("USGS")
reported in Open-File Report 81-962 (1981) that historical drill
hole FL-11a is located outside the eastern boundary of the Property,
approximately 3 miles (4.5 kilometres) east of the centre of the
interpreted sub-basin. Hole FL-11a was drilled to a depth of 450
feet (147 metres) and encountered lithium values in sediments
ranging from 10 parts per million ("ppm") to 115 ppm and averaging
61.7 ppm for 67 samples analyzed. Lithium in sampled ground water
ranged from trace at the end of the hole to 21 ppm at a depth of 55
feet (18 metres). American Lithium believes that drilling deeper
holes at Atlantis within the area of the interpreted sub-basin could
intersect aquifers potentially hosting trapped brines with higher
contents of lithium than were encountered in the relatively shallow
USGS hole drilled to the east of the gravity low anomaly. Also
reported in USGS Open File Report 77-54 (1977) were the collection
of 10 surface brine samples with lithium contents ranging 37 – 350
mg/l (ppm), averaging 159 mg/l (ppm), to the north of the sub-basin.
3) Fish South
Lithium Property, Esmeralda County, Nevada (2,960 acres):
The Fish South is a significant lithium brine exploration assets.
Following completion of payments and share issuances, LI.V
will hold an 80% interest in Fish South, subject to a 2.5% percent
net smelter returns royalty in favour of the underlying property
owner. LI.V plans to commence an initial work program during the
second half of 2016.
4)
'Colorado
Lithium Property', Esmeralda County, Nevada (~4,870 acres):
193 placer and 44 lode claims, American Lithium Corp. has rights to
acquire a one-hundred (100%) interest in the Colorado Property,
subject to a one (1.0%) percent net smelter returns royalty. The
underlying holding company for the property (to be wholly owned by
LI.V) is required make the following cash and common share payments
(for these claims): an initial cash payment of C$200,000 (paid), and
issue 400,000 common shares of the Company.
------ ------ ----- ------ ------ ------
2016
Development Plans for Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine
Project:
American Lithium
Corp. will follow through with a development program in
the range of US$1 million - $1.5 million for its Fish
Lake Valley Lithium Project; building out ~3 - 4 miles
of roads further into the playa (cost ~$15K/mile), and
following additional ground gravity surveys, the team
will probably set up a sonic drilling program, which is
the most cost effective way (relatively inexpensive) to
get the samples geologists need from the sediments. The
Company's August 11, 2016 release entitled "American
Lithium announces grades from 25 to 389 mg/L Li and 58
to 2210 mg/L B from lithium brine extracted from 6 Auger
Drill Holes at the Fish Lake Valley Lithium Brine
Project, Nevada" confirms LI.V is on track
in the initial Phase 2 Exploration Drill Program
underway at its Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine Property.
The Company is expected to follow-up with a NI 43-101
report in Q4-2016. The
team should be able to keep to under 5 acres of
disturbed land, thus avoiding major permitting issues.
The team will also conduct brine recovery, and
evaporating testing. In short, the team will hone in on
structures and sweet spots. A fault system has already
been mapped leading directly through the claim blocks.
Grades at LI.V's Fish Lake Valley Lithium Project on
Par with Robust Areas of Clayton Valley
Excerpt from above referenced
August 11, 2016 Company release; "The
Lithium values from these brine assays are significantly
higher than the historical brine results from Fish Lake
Valley and well within the range that has been reported
in the adjacent Clayton Valley. This really demonstrates
the robust lithium and boron potential in Fish Lake
Valley." commented Michael Kobler, CEO of
American Lithium. "The
Company is excited to move forward with sonic drilling
to test deeper aquifers with the 13 permitted drill
sites this month."
------ ------ ----- ------ ------ ------
Other area
Nevada acquisitions:
American Lithium Corp. is accumulating a large,
high quality portfolio of strategically located lithium brine
properties in a region.
Clayton Valley-1 Lithium Brine Property, Esmeralda County, Nevada
(1,540 acres): The Clayton
Valley-1 Lithium Brine Property provides American Lithium Corp. with
a geologically significant property in the original Clayton Valley
playa, strategically located approximately 250 meters from
Albemarle's lithium property, the only brine based lithium producer
in North America. A National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report
completed on the property in May 2016, concluded that geologic and
geophysical mapping documented in 2008, indicates a deep graben lies
between the Silver Peak Range front and outcrops at Goat Island and
Alcatraz Island. This graben is the immediate exploration target for
the project as it may represent a separate sub-basin in the Clayton
Valley that holds brines not subject to pumping by production wells
currently operated by Albemarle on the eastside of the main valley.
[see expanded details in the July 5, 2016 news release excerpt
located below]
San Emidio
Lithium Property located in north Nevada, Washoe County, Nevada (2,240 acres):
The San Emidio property was the focus of extensive exploration
programs carried out over a four year period including a gravity
geophysical survey completed in 2011, which indicates that an
earlier discovered near surface lithium brine anomaly occurs on the
west side of a basinal low. The proximity to a feature of this
nature and the presence of lithium in the brines are criteria that
are necessary for the formation of a Silver Peak style lithium brine
deposit. Project generator Lithium Corporation completed exploration
programs on the San Emidio property from 2009 to 2012, including
sediment and brine geochemical studies, gravity geophysics, and two
phases of direct push drilling. Anomalous lithium values were
detected during the brine sampling program with assays ranging from
trace to the highest lithium value of 81 mg/L. The gravity survey
defined a basinal depression proximal to the San Emidio lithium in
brine anomaly, similar to that seen in the area of the producing
brine field in Clayton Valley, which is a direct analog of the San
Emidio prospect. The direct push drilling confirmed the presence of
lithium in the brines and outlined a lithium-in-brine anomaly
approximately 1 km wide, and more than 5 km long, within which
anomalous lithium enriched brines with concentrations ranging from
trace up to 23.7 mg/L were encountered at depths ranging from 24 to
39 meters subsurface. As is the case at Clayton Valley, lithium
concentrations in brines at San Emidio may be reasonably be expected
to increase at depth. American Lithium Corp. has rights to earn an
80% interest in the San Emidio Property following an initial cash
payment of US$100,000, and upon completion of exploration
expenditures of not less than US$600,000, and the issuance of
300,000 common shares of the Company. Once 80% is obtained, it can
acquire the balance of the property, subject to a two-and-one-half
(2.5%) percent net smelter returns royalty, through the payment of
US$1,000,000.
Brine is by far the
easiest and lowest cost type of lithium resource to process
(compared to rock and clays), generally easier to explore, has a
small environmental footprint, is faster to put into production, and
requires less capital. Below is expanded
insight on American Lithium's Fish Lake Valley Lithium Project.
Sector Newswire has identified the
following research links for additional DD on American Lithium
Corp.:
- American Lithium Corp. corporate
website:
http://www.americanlithiumcorp.com
- American Lithium corp. corporate
presentation:
http://www.americanlithiumcorp.com/assets/pdf/Li-PPT-May-2016.pdf
- SEDAR filings for American Lithium
Corp.:
http://sedar.com/DisplayProfile.do?lang=EN&issuerType=03&issuerNo=00005831
- Recent mining journal review of
American Lithium Corp.:
http://miningmarketwatch.net/li.htm
------ ------ ----- ------ ------ ------
Recent
(August 11, 2016) news from American Lithium Corp.:
American
Lithium announces grades from 25 to 389 mg/L Li and 58 to
2210 mg/L B from lithium brine extracted from 6 Auger Drill
Holes at the Fish Lake Valley Lithium Brine Project, Nevada
VANCOUVER, August 11, 2016 /CNW/ - American
Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LI) (OTCQB: LiACF) (Frankfurt: 5LA; WKN:
A2AHEL) ("American Lithium" or the "Company"),
has received assays from the recently completed 6 initial
shallow (2 m) auger drill holes on the North Bowl Playa in
its Fish Lake Valley lithium brine project, Esmeralda
County, Nevada. Assays of the samples returned lithium
values from 25 to 389 mg/L Lithium and 58 to 2210 mg/L Boron
(see table below).
Element |
Li |
B |
Mg |
Reporting unit: |
mg/L |
mg/L |
mg/L |
AA |
389 |
2210 |
0.6 |
BB |
321 |
1340 |
0.3 |
CC |
99 |
205 |
1.9 |
EEE |
39 |
58 |
96.9 |
JJ |
37 |
113 |
27.8 |
NN |
25 |
65 |
34.8 |
North Playa Fish Lake Valley Auger Drilling
Lithium Brine samples
The auger drill holes targeted infill drilling in areas of
interest from the 2010-11 Phase I exploration as well as
extensions of these areas. These results show increased
lithium brine grades from the Phase I program which reported
maximum values of 150 mg/L Lithium and 2670 mg/L Boron, (NI
43-101 Technical Report, Fish Lake Valley Lithium-Brine
Property, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA, Nov 2015). The
sample results also continue to demonstrate an inverse
relationship between Li and Mg grades which is beneficial as
Mg is seen as a deleterious metal in processing lithium
brines.
"The Lithium values from these
brine assays are significantly higher than the historical
brine results from Fish Lake Valley and well within the
range that has been reported in the adjacent Clayton Valley.
This really demonstrates the robust lithium and boron
potential in Fish Lake Valley." commented Michael
Kobler, CEO of American Lithium. "The
Company is excited to move forward with sonic drilling to
test deeper aquifers with the 13 permitted drill sites this
month."
As reported in the July 19, 2016 news release, the Company
has also conducted auger sampling in the South Playa of Fish
Lake Valley. Six auger holes were drilled but did not
penetrate the over burden covering the near surface aquifer
and so no samples were taken. The South Playa lithium brine
target will be drill tested in the upcoming deeper sonic
drill program.
The near surface auger program is the first of three drill
stages planned during the 2016 Fish Lake Valley Exploration
Program and will be followed by Sonic drilling up to a
maximum depth of up to 500 feet. A total of 13 drill
locations have been permitted for the Sonic drill programs
to date. It is anticipated that the drill program will give
a greater understanding of the lithium content of playa
soils and brines, along with other potentially economically
important minerals, as well as porosity and permeability of
lithium bearing brine aquafers within the North and South
Bowl Playas of the Fish Lake Valley lithium brine project.
The Company continues to integrate results of surface
mapping and sampling with the ongoing gravity survey
currently being conducted by Dr. John Oldow, Director of the
Ellison Miles Center for Geological Field Studies at the
University of Texas, Dallas, to further define drill targets
for the Company's second stage drill program.
The brine samples were drawn from the bottom of the auger
hole (2m depth), through a perforated PVC pipe. The sampling
was supervised by Dr. Paul Lechler who delivered them to
Florin Analytical Services of Reno Nevada. The samples were
screened for suspended solids and then analyzed by the ICP
OES protocol excepting for Lithium which was analyzed by AAS.
Michael Collins, P.Geo., is the Company's designated
Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument
43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical
information contained in this news release.
ABOUT American Lithium Corp. American Lithium Corp. is actively engaged in the
acquisition, exploration and development of lithium deposits
within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the
Americas. American Lithium holds options to acquire Nevada
lithium brine claims totaling 22,332 acres (9,038 ha),
including 18,552 contiguous acres (7,508 ha) in Fish Lake
Valley, Esmeralda County; 2,240 acre (907 ha) San Emidio
Project in Washoe County; and the 1,540 acre (623 ha)
Clayton-Valley-1 Project. The Company's Fish Lake Valley
lithium brine properties are located approximately 38
kilometers from Albemarle's Silver Peak, the largest lithium
operation in the U.S., approximately 3.5 hours from the
Tesla Gigafactory. American Lithium is listed on the TSXV
under the trading symbol "Li". For further information,
please visit the Company's website at
www.americanlithiumcorp.com ....
....click
here for full copy from source |
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