Nevada Lithium Resources Inc. (CSE: NVLH; OTCQB: NVLHF; FSE: 87K)
(“
Nevada Lithium” or the
“
Company”) is pleased to announce the discovery of
high-grade boron mineralization at its 100% owned Bonnie Claire
lithium project (the “
Project” or
“
Bonnie Claire”), located in Nye
County, Nevada. The Company is also pleased to announce it has
initiated work to examine any potential effects on metallurgy for
the Project.
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Nevada Lithium’s CEO, Stephen Rentschler, commented:
“Metallurgical work on the recently discovered high-grade lithium
mineralization in the lower mineralized zone has identified the
presence of high-grade boron. Boron is a valuable industrial
mineral with extensive and diverse uses including computer screens,
fertilizers, powerful magnets for wind turbines, ceramics,
insulation and more.The high levels of boron
appear to be associated with high levels of lithium at Bonnie
Claire. Currently, the presence of boron is thought to be laterally
extensive and open ended in three directions, coinciding with the
high-grade lithium lower mineralized zone (see Press Release dated
February 27, 2024). This exciting development presents the
potential to generate a significant secondary revenue stream from
Bonnie Claire”.He continued, “Given the emerging,
favorable comparisons between Bonnie Claire’s high-grade lithium
zone and Ioneer’s advanced Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron project
(110km away), we have decided to thoroughly examine the inclusion
of boron into a recovery circuit at Bonnie
Claire.At Rhyolite Ridge, the boron processing
stream material averages 13,900 ppm (1.39%) boron, and the B5
high-grade boron bearing marl zone averages 62 feet (19 meters)
thick1, with a maximum thickness of 131 feet (40
meters). In comparison, the recent Bonnie Claire drill intercepts
have been greater than >550 feet (>168 meters) with boron
grades averaging above 15,000 ppm (1.50%). Additionally, the
average lithium grade of the Rhyolite Ridge processing stream is
1,750 ppm* lithium while the Bonnie Claire lower mineralized zone
displays drill intercepts of up to 4,154 ppm lithium over 680 feet
(207 meters) (see Press Release dated February 27,
2024).This is a new, very exciting development for
Nevada Lithium and we look forward to pursuing it
further.” |
Join Stephen Rentschler, CEO of Nevada Lithium, for a LIVE
Virtual Event Date and Time: Thursday, May
23, 2024 at 12:30 pm ET / 9 am PT |
Click here to register for the event > |
Highlights:
- Drill Hole BC2303C averaged 15,001 ppm (1.50%) boron over 560
feet (171 meters)
- Drill Hole BC2301C averaged 14,195 ppm (1.42%) boron over 620
feet (189 meters)
- Highest-grade boron zones correspond with the highest-grade
lithium zones
- XRD of core samples from the deep high grade lithium zone
report up to 38% searlesite
- The high grade lithium/boron remains open in multiple
directions.
- Global Resource Engineering (GRE) to investigate the
possibility of incorporating boron into its ongoing estimation of a
new lithium mineral resource estimate.
Lithium Mineralization
The Company is concentrated on identifying and
developing significant lithium mineralization at Bonnie Claire. The
2023 drill program confirmed the presence of two mineralized zones:
1) a lower-grade upper zone and 2) a higher-grade lower zone. The
Upper zone starts at surface and exhibits intercepts such as 967ppm
lithium over 420ft (20-440ft) in drillhole BC-2303C (news release
February 27, 2024). The lower zone is much thicker and exhibits
much higher grades, such as 3076 ppm Lithium over 1100ft
(1340-2460ft) in drillhole BC-2301C (news release November 20,
2023) and 4,154 ppm Lithium over 680 ft (207 m) from 1820-2500ft in
BC-2303C (news release February 27, 2024). Lithium mineralization
is hosted within claystone host rocks, disseminated within the
minus 10 size fraction. The mineralized claystones are laterally
continuous and appear to dip gently to the east and remain open for
expansion in several directions.
Boron mineralization
Elevated boron assays have been encountered at
Bonnie Claire since the 2022 drill program, though intercepts were
not considered material to include for extraction. In 2023, the
Company switched to sample preparation using four-acid digestion to
provide more reliable lithium assays, but this preparation
technique precluded the analysis of boron. The Company recently
reanalyzed the original pulps from BC-2301C and BC-2303C for boron
using a sodium hydroxide fusion (FUS-NA02) sample preparation that
allows for high grade boron analysis by ICP-AES. The reanalysis of
these two holes has returned significantly higher boron grades
across longer intercepts than in previous holes. This has piqued
the Company’s interest in potentially exploiting the boron in the
deeper zone. High boron and lithium assays appear to coexist within
the lower claystones between approximately 1750 (533m) and 2500ft
(762m) in depth. That relationship is illustrated in Table 1 and
Figure 1 below.
The recent drill assays have been reinforced by
new quantitative X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis results conducted
by Hazen Research Inc. They have found that a significant portion
(38%) of the lithium high grade zone rock may be comprised of
searlesite. Searlesite is a relatively rare sodium borosilicate
mineral (NaBSi2O5(OH)2), usually found disseminated in fine-grained
lacustrine strata and often associated with altering volcanic
ash.
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Drill Hole |
Boron (ppm) |
Lithium (ppm) |
Start (ft) |
End (ft) |
Start (m) |
End (m) |
Intercept (ft) |
Intercept (m) |
BC-2301C |
14195 |
3783 |
1740 |
2360 |
530 |
719 |
620 |
189 |
BC-2303C |
15001 |
4221 |
1940 |
2500 |
591 |
762 |
560 |
171 |
BC-2201C |
11664 |
3384 |
1771 |
2001 |
540 |
610 |
230 |
70 |
BC-2203C |
8383 |
3480 |
1660 |
1998 |
506 |
609 |
338 |
103 |
Table 1: Boron and lithium drill intercepts in holes
BC-2301C, BC-2303C, BC-2201C, and BC-2203C
Figure 1: Cross section illustrating downhole lithium
and boron assays
Figure 2: Plan map of drill hole locations and boron
intercepts. Boron intercepts as listed in Table 1 above. Lithium
intercepts from existing press releases on BC-2201C (September 29,
2022), BC-2201C (December 7, 2022), BC-2301C (November 20, 2023)
and BC-2303C (February 27, 2024).
Metallurgy
Initial metallurgical work by Hazen Labs Inc.
suggests that that the presence of significant searlesite affects
the physical behavior of the claystone that contains the high-grade
lithium mineralization. The Company has engaged Hazen and Global
Resource Engineering, Ltd. (“GRE”) to evaluate the behavior of the
searlesite-rich material and investigate if any modifications may
be required in the existing metallurgical circuit.
Lithium-Boron Mineral Resource Estimate
Because of the potential importance of this
boron mineralization, Nevada Lithium has asked Global Resource
Engineering (GRE) to investigate the possibility of incorporating
boron into its ongoing estimation of a new lithium mineral resource
estimate (see news release dated April 16, 2024).
As Hazen proceeds with metallurgical work on the
extraction of lithium and boron from the high-grade lower zone, the
Company continues to proceed with its plans to publish an updated
Preliminary Economic Assessment (see news release dated April 16,
2024.
About Boron
Boron is the 5th element on the Periodic Table
with a powerful combination of physical properties, including
hardness, light weight, and heat resistance. Boron’s physical
properties make it a critical material and limited substitute
ingredient in everyday and future facing applications, including
permanent magnets, electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels,
fertilizers, specialty glass in cell phones, etc. 85% of current
production is sourced from Turkey and the majority of refined Boron
specialty and advanced materials are imported from China. 80% of
Boron Carbides are sourced from China today. Demand for high
quality boron is estimated to be growing above 4% annually on a
base of approximately 5 MM tons produced in 2024. Supply deficits
are expected to continue throughout the end of the decade,
supporting prices of boron derivative products. (Source: 5E
Advanced Materials, Inc. Form 8K, website, Mordor Intelligence)
Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QAQC)
A Quality Assurance / Quality Control protocol following
industry best practice was incorporated into the program by Nevada
Lithium. Drilling was conducted by Major
Drilling. Core was transported by Major from the collar
location and received by Nevada lithium staff at the Company
storage facility in Beatty, NV. The facility is only
accessible to Nevada Lithium staff and remains otherwise
locked. Received core was logged and cut at the
Facility by Nevada Lithium staff. Logging and sampling
included the systematic insertion of blanks and duplicates.
Core samples intended for chemical assay were
transported by Company staff to ALS USA Inc.’s laboratory in Reno,
NV. for sample preparation (Codes WEI-21 CRU-21, CRU-31, Pul-31,
SPL-22Y, CRU-QC, PUL-QC, DIS-REJ21, and LOG-22), then shipped to
ALS Vancouver laboratory in Burnaby BC, where the samples were
digested with 4 acid (GEO-4A01) and analyzed via ICP-MS (Code
ME-MS61), tailored for lithium analyses along with accessory
elements. The 4 acid digestion did not allow for a boron assay in
the initial multi-element analysis, so the pulps were pulled from
internal ALS storage after analysis (FND-02) and subjected to
sodium hydroxide fusion (FUS-NA02) for ICP-AES high grade boron
analysis (B-ICP82a). Internal ALS Standards duplicates, and blanks
in the drill results were approved as acceptable.
Core samples intended for mineralogical analysis
were transported to Hazen Research Inc.’s laboratory in Golden CO.
The sample was analyzed as received. Analysis was performed using a
Bruker D8 Advance XRD with Davinci design and a Lynxeye detector
utilizing cobalt radiation produced at 35 kV and 40 mA. The scan
range is 5°–85° 2-theta, with a step of 0.02° 2-theta and a time
per step of 0.4 s. Mineral quantification was completed using the
Rietveld refinement method with Bruker TOPAS version 4.2 software.
Please note the detection limit of XRD analysis for certain
constituents can be as high as 2 to 5%.
About Nevada Lithium Resources Inc.
Nevada Lithium Resources Inc. is a mineral
exploration and development company focused on shareholder value
creation through its core asset, the Bonnie Claire Lithium Project,
located in Nye County, Nevada, where it holds a 100% interest.
Bonnie Claire has a current NI 43-101 inferred
mineral resource of 3,407 million tonnes (Mt) grading 1,013 ppm Li
for 18.372 million tonnes (Mt) of contained lithium carbonate
equivalent (LCE), at a cut-off grade of 700 ppm Li2
The PEA for Bonnie Claire indicates a Net
Present Value (8%) of $1.5 Billion USD (after tax) using $13,400
USD per tonne LCE and after-tax IRR of 23.8%. With an LCE price of
$30,000 USD per tonne, the Net Present Value (8%) of the Project is
$5.9 Billion USD (after tax) and an IRR of 60.3%2.
For further information on Nevada Lithium and to
subscribe for updates about Nevada Lithium, please visit its
website at: https://nevadalithium.com/
QP Disclosure
The technical information in the above
disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Jeff Wilson, PhD,
P.Geo, Vice President of Exploration for Nevada Lithium, designated
Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
1 See I Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project
Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) Report, produced for IONEER USA
Corp. completed in April 2020.2See Preliminary Economic Assessment
NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Bonnie Claire Lithium Project,
Nye Country, Nevada authored by Terre Lane, J. Todd Harvey, MBA,
PhD, Hamid Samari, PhD and Rick Moritz (Effective date of August
20, 2021, and Issue date of February 25, 2022) (the
“PEA” or the “Preliminary
Economic Assessment”) as
summarized in Nevada Lithium’s news release dated October 13, 2021,
which are available on Nevada Lithium’s SEDAR+ profile at
www.sedarplus.ca. Results of the Preliminary
Economic Assessment represent forward-looking information. This
economic assessment is, by definition, preliminary in nature and
includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too
speculative to have the economic considerations applied to them
that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There
is no certainty that the Preliminary Economic Assessment will be
realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not
have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that
all or any part of the Mineral Resources will be converted into
Mineral Reserves.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Nevada Lithium
Resources Inc.“Stephen Rentschler”
Stephen Rentschler, CEO
For further information, please
contact:Nevada Lithium Resources
Inc.Stephen RentschlerCEO and DirectorPhone: (647)
254-9795E-mail: sr@nevadalithium.comMedia
InquiriesE-mail: email@nevadalithium.comFind
Nevada Lithium on Twitter
and LinkedIn
The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
The Canadian Securities Exchange has not approved or disapproved of
the contents of this news release.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information (collectively,
“forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to matters
that identify future events or future performance. Often, but not
always, forward looking information can be identified by words such
as “could”, “pro forma”, “plans”, “expects”, “may”, “will”,
“should”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”,
“intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “potential” or variations of
such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that
refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would,
might or will occur or be taken or achieved.
The forward-looking statements contained herein
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the
performance of the Project and results of the 2023 Exploration and
Development Plan (including, without limitation, its mineral
resources, current claims and its ability to utilize global lithium
needs); and the performance of lithium as a commodity, including
the sustained lithium demand and prices.
In making the forward looking statements in this
news release, Nevada Lithium has applied several material
assumptions, including without limitation: market fundamentals that
result in sustained lithium demand and prices; the receipt of any
necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection
with the future development of Bonnie Claire in a timely manner;
the availability of financing on suitable terms for the
development; construction and continued operation of Bonnie Claire;
the Project containing mineral resources; and Nevada Lithium’s
ability to comply with all applicable regulations and laws,
including environmental, health and safety laws.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking
statements are not based on historical facts but instead reflect
Nevada Lithium’s management’s expectations, estimates or
projections concerning future results or events based on the
opinions, assumptions and estimates of managements considered
reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although Nevada
Lithium believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-
looking statements are reasonable, such information involves risks
and uncertainties, and under reliance should not be placed on such
information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have
material adverse effects on future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by Nevada Lithium. Among the key
risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected in the forward- looking statements are the
following: operating and technical difficulties in connection with
mineral exploration and development and mine development activities
at the Project; estimation or realization of mineral reserves and
mineral resources, requirements for additional capital; future
prices of precious metals and lithium; changes in general economic,
business and political conditions, including changes in the
financial markets and in the demand and market price for
commodities; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates;
possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as
anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the
mining industry; delays or the inability of Nevada Lithium to
obtain any necessary approvals, permits, consents or
authorizations, financing or other planned activities; changes in
laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations;
currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims limitations on
insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending
litigation, environmental issues and liabilities; risks relating to
epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of
COVID-19 on Nevada Lithium’s business; as well as those factors
discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Nevada Lithium’s
latest Management Discussion and Analysis and other filings of
Nevada Lithium filed with the Canadian securities authorities,
copies of which can be found under Nevada Lithium’s profile on the
SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialized, or should assumptions underlying the
forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those described herein as intended, planned,
anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although Nevada
Lithium has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties
and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially,
there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. Nevada Lithium does not intend, and does not
assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information
except as otherwise required by applicable law.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9190d6b2-c896-4d7f-b002-65db69ddb105
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3bf16207-e640-4cc4-98d8-51fb2c2e1b67
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