CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - July 6, 2016) - BACANORA MINERALS LTD. ("Bacanora" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:BCN)(AIM:BCN), the London and Canadian listed lithium company developing the Sonora Lithium Project(1) ("Project") in northern state of Sonora, Mexico, is pleased to provide an update on the activities being undertaken as part of the Company's upcoming definitive Feasibility Study ("FS").
The FS is focussed on at delivering the most economically robust development strategy for an initial 17,500 tonne per annum ("tpa") of lithium carbonate production at the Project (subsequently increasing to 35,000 tpa in later years). The Company's strategy is to position itself to satisfy ongoing strong growth for lithium carbonate in the fast growing sectors of electric vehicles and energy storage. The FS is targeted for completion in Q1, 2017 and the Company is fully financed through to the initial project development and the start of the construction stages.
Overview
(1) The Sonora Lithium Project is comprised of the following lithium properties: La Ventana lithium concession, which is 100 percent owned by Bacanora, and the El Sauz and Fleur concessions, which are held by Mexilit S.A. de C.V. ("Mexilit"). The Megalit concession, which is held by Megalit S.A de C.V ("Megalit"), is not included in the Sonora Project Technical Reports at this time. Mexilit and Megalit are owned 70 percent by Bacanora and 30 percent by Rare Earth Minerals Plc.
(2) LCE is the industry standard terminology for, and is equivalent to, Li2CO3. 1 ppm Li metal is equivalent to 5.32 ppm LCE / Li2CO3.. Use of LCE is to provide data comparable with industry reports and assumes complete conversion of lithium in clays with no recovery or process losses.
Exploration and Resources:
The current exploration program is underway to upgrade a portion of the current MRE from the Indicated to Measured category is ongoing. This 3,000 metre drilling program has been planned in conjunction with SRK and over 2,000 metres (some 31 infill drill holes) have been completed to date on the La Ventana concession of the Project. In addition, geotechnical and hydrogeological studies are programmed to start after the drilling campaign.
Infill Drilling highlights:
The table below summarises the unit intercepts of the current drilling campaign:
Hole/Unit | Capping Basalt | Upper Sandstone | Upper Clay | Ignimbrite | Lower Clay | Basement | Total Depth (m) |
LV-40 | 95.0 | 7.5 | 36.9 | 5.2 | 21.0 | 11.4 | 176.9 |
LV-41 | 106.0 | 25.5 | 16.9 | 25.6 | 5.1 | 179.1 | |
LV-42 | 20.1 | 8.1 | 32.2 | 6.6 | 11.4 | 9.2 | 87.6 |
LV-43 | 59.5 | 12.0 | 41.0 | 18.3 | 18.3 | 6.1 | 155.0 |
LV-44 | 71.8 | 14.3 | 40.7 | 12.8 | 22.0 | 4.4 | 166.0 |
LV-45 | 14.9 | 21.5 | 14.0 | 50.4 | |||
LV-46 | 13.2 | 20.8 | 10.8 | 44.8 | |||
LV-47 | 15.0 | 22.8 | 7.1 | 44.9 | |||
LV-48 | 14.0 | 22.4 | 5.3 | 41.7 | |||
LV-49 | 14.1 | 15.5 | 14.1 | 1.2 | 44.9 | ||
LV-50 | 4.3 | 14.6 | 26.3 | 15.5 | 10.4 | 4.4 | 75.4 |
LV-51 | 12.4 | 22.7 | 9.9 | 44.9 | |||
LV-52 | 12.9 | 19.3 | 6.6 | 38.8 | |||
LV-53 | 126.8 | 1.2 | 38.8 | 16.9 | 20.9 | 4.9 | 209.4 |
LV-54 | 100.9 | 11.1 | 36.9 | 16.6 | 19.5 | 6.2 | 191.2 |
LV-55 | 32.3 | 19.8 | 30.2 | 15.8 | 24.2 | 8.0 | 130.3 |
LV-56 | 5.1 | 26.4 | 27.7 | 14.9 | 21.5 | 7.2 | 102.7 |
LV-57 | 2.6 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 19.8 | 9.2 | 44.8 | |
LV-58 | 40.4 | 4.5 | 17.9 | 11.7 | 21.4 | 4.0 | 99.8 |
LV-59 | 45.9 | 25.5 | 12.6 | 15.8 | 11.3 | 111.0 | |
Average (m) | 54.7 | 11.5 | 30.3 | 13.4 | 19.8 | 7.3 | 2039.3 |
Hermosillo Pilot Plant Operation and Sample Production:
Over the past six months, the Company has continued to expand the production capacity of its pilot plant located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Metallurgical test work is ongoing with a significant focus on off-taker samples, continuous flow sheet development plus plant operations and ongoing operator training. The initial focus has been the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate samples for delivery off-takers in Asia and Europe.
Over the next 12, months the Company will continue a recruitment campaign of engineers and operators in order to maintain the plant in continuous operation and to gain expertise in those processes that require supervision and monitoring for optimisation and quality control. To date, the plant operates continuously on the beneficiation and hydro-metallurgical processes. This investment in people and training is expected to provide significant operational and quality control benefits once commissioning of the full scale lithium carbonate plant commences.
Pilot Plant Operation Highlights:
In addition to the significant flow sheet development and optimisation being undertaken at the pilot plant, all of the flow sheet development is being audited by independent consultants as part of the ongoing FS process.
The Company is also continuing to develop a number of strategic relationships with international lithium trading companies and mining companies for the sale of its lithium carbonate products. The management team has already completed a number of detailed site and plant visits with potential off-take partners to facilitate and expedite lithium sample optimisation. Negotiations in respect to offtake agreements with these potential partners are ongoing and will continue in tandem with the preparation of the FS.
Martin Vidal is the Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies who has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this announcement.
ABOUT BACANORA:
Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed minerals explorer (AIM and TSX-V: BCN). The Company explores and is developing industrial mineral projects, with a primary focus on its lithium project. The Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico. The main assets of Bacanora are:
Reader Advisory
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to disclosure regarding the anticipated timing for completion of the construction and commissioning of the process plant, potential future production volumes, completion of a feasibility study, future drilling activities, appointment of engineering and technical consultants, ongoing upgrades and semi-continuous operations and continued lithium carbonate production; ongoing training and quality control processes; employment of additional operational and technical personnel; upgrading of the MRE from Indicate to Measured; future geotechnical and hydrogeological studies; reporting of assay results; ore-to-product metallurgical test work and the lithium market in general. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: commodity price volatility; general economic conditions in Canada, the United States, Mexico and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.
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