TIDMBCN
RNS Number : 4216B
Bacanora Minerals Ltd
10 January 2018
Bacanora Minerals Ltd
('Bacanora' or the 'Company')
10 January 2018
New Exploration licence expands Zinnwald Potential
Highlights
-- Licence covers previously mined Falkenhain Lithium deposit
close to Company's Zinnwald project in Germany
-- Potential to increase life time of mine at Zinnwald
-- Falkenhain and Zinnwald complement flagship Sonora lithium
project in Mexico which was assigned a US$1.25billion NPV in
Feasibility Study ('FS')
Bacanora, the London and Canadian listed (AIM: BCN, TSXV: BCN)
lithium company, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary,
Deutsche Lithium GmbH, ('Deutsche Lithium'), which is 50% owned by
Bacanora, has been granted an exploration licence ('the Licence')
covering 295 hectares of the previously mined Falkenhain Lithium
deposit ('Falkenhain') in southern Saxony, Germany. Falkenhain,
which is located within 5km of Bacanora's 50% owned Zinnwald
Lithium Project ('Zinnwald'), has the potential to increase the
life time of a mine at Zinnwald.
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has published a
new corporate presentation and corporate video on its website
following the recent publication of a Feasibility Study which
estimates a Net Present Value of US$1.25 billion and Internal Rate
of Return of 26% for the Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico. The
corporate presentation is available on the Company's website at
www.bacanoraminerals.com .
As with Zinnwald, Falkenhain lies in a geological setting of
granite hosted Sn/W/Li belts that have been explored and mined
historically for tin, tungsten and lithium. Historical exploration
data indicates additional resources at Falkenhain hosted in several
ore bodies containing lithium, tin metal and tungsten. As a
Qualified Person (under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects ('NI 43-101')) has not done
sufficient work to confirm the historical estimate, Bacanora is not
treating the historical estimate as current Mineral Resources or
Mineral Reserves. However, the Company believes that the historical
work at Falkenhain and the geological context of the deposit
support the case for investing in the Licence and conducting
further work to investigate the deposit and its potential for
economic extraction.
Deutsche Lithium plans to explore the deposit over the next five
years and to combine its exploration and development with Zinnwald.
A 5 year Exploration Licence was issued to Deutsche Lithium by the
Saxony State Mining Authority (Sächsisches Oberbergamt) in
accordance with --7 of the German Mining Act
(Bundesberggesetz).
Zinnwald - Lithium-Project Update
As part of the ongoing development of Zinnwald, a Feasibility
Study is underway to develop a strategy to demonstrate the economic
viability of producing higher value lithium products for the
European battery and automotive sectors. The following work has
been completed or is ongoing:
-- Resource infill drilling programme comprising 15 infill drill
holes and 4,458 metres to upgrade the existing resource model in
accordance with NI 43-101 completed earlier than expected on 27
December 2017
o Chemical analysis of the drill cores will be completed in Q1
2018 and the results will be incorporated into a 3D-model of the
Zinnwald deposit
-- Collection of a 100 tonnes bulk ore sample from the
underground mine at Zinnwald to provide samples for metallurgical
testwork
o Material has been crushed and sent to metallurgical
laboratories in Germany
o Grinding, magnetic separation and concentration testwork
programmes will be completed in January and final grinding will be
carried out in Q1 2018
o Chemical processing (roasting, leaching, precipitation) will
now be carried out to develop the final flowsheet to produce
downstream lithium compounds, focusing on the production of higher
value lithium battery chemical products
Bacanora currently has a 50% interest in, and joint operational
control, of Zinnwald, with an option to acquire the remaining 50%
of the Project.
The Falkenhain and Zinnwald lithium projects complement
Bacanora's flagship Sonora Lithium Project ('Sonora') in Mexico,
which is one of the world's larger and scalable lithium deposits. A
favourable Feasibility Study, which estimated a NPV8 of US$1.253
billion and IRR of 26% for Sonora, was completed in December 2017.
The FS, which is focused on an initial operation capable of
delivering 17,500 tonnes per year of high quality battery-grade
Li(2) CO(3) , followed by an expansion to 35,000 tonnes Li(2) CO(3)
per year, confirms that Sonora occupies a position on the industry
cost curve similar to the low cost brine deposits in South America
(see announcement of 13 December 2017). The Company is aiming to
commence the construction phase at Sonora in H1 2018 with first
production targeted for 2019/2020.
Bacanora CEO Peter Secker said, "The issue of the exploration
licence is a key milestone for Bacanora's activities in Germany.
Falkenhain will supplement our two significant lithium assets at
Zinnwald and Sonora, each of which have the potential to become
major suppliers of high value products to fast growing end markets,
such as electric vehicles and energy storage, in the strategically
important European and Asian lithium markets. With an NPV8 of
US$1.25billion and an IRR of 26%, the recent FS for Sonora in
Mexico demonstrates the company-making potential of our most
advanced project. We are focused on building a portfolio of world
class projects, and with this in mind I look forward to providing
further updates on the ongoing FS at Zinnwald."
**S**
For further information please visit www.bacanoraminerals.com or
contact:
Bacanora Minerals Peter Secker, CEO info@bacanoraminerals.com
Ltd.
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Cairn Financial
Advisers LLP, Sandy Jamieson/Liam +44 (0) 20
Nomad Murray 7213 0880
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Canaccord Genuity, Martin Davison, +44 (0) 20
Broker James Asensio 7523 8000
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St Brides Partners,
Financial PR Frank Buhagiar / +44 (0) 20
Adviser Megan Dennison 7236 1177
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ABOUT BACANORA:
Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed lithium exploration and
development company (TSX-V: BCN and AIM: BCN). The Company is
exploring for, and developing a pipeline of international lithium
projects, with a primary focus on the Sonora Lithium Project. The
Company's operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico.
The Company is led by a team with lithium expertise and proven mine
development, construction and operations experience.
The Sonora Lithium Project(2) , which consists of ten mining
concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in
the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and
exploration work to date, has established a Measured plus Indicated
Mineral Resource estimate of over 5 Mt (comprising 1.9Mt of
Measured Resources and 3.1Mt of Indicated Resources) of LCE(1) and
an additional Inferred Mineral Resource of 3.7 Mt of LCE. The
Company's Feasibility Study (which was announced 12 December 2017)
has established Proven Mineral Reserves (in accordance with NI
43-101) of 1.67 MT and Probable Mineral Reserves of 2.85 Mt LCE and
confirmed the economics associated with becoming a 35,000 tpa
lithium carbonate and 50,000 tpa SOP producer in Mexico. In
addition to the Sonora Lithium Project, the Company also has a 50%
interest in the Zinnwald Lithium Project and the Falkenhain Licence
in southern Saxony, Germany. Each of the Zinnwald Lithium Project
and the Falkenhain Licence are located in a granite hosted Sn/W/Li
belt that has been mined historically for tin, tungsten and lithium
at different times over the past 300 years. The strategic location
of the Zinnwald Lithium Project and the Falkenhain Licence provides
close geographical proximity to the German automotive and
downstream lithium chemical industries.
1 LCE = lithium carbonate (Li(2) CO(3) ) equivalent; determined
by multiplying Li value in percent by 5.324 to get an equivalent
Li(2) CO(3) value in per cent. 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.
2 The Sonora Lithium Project is comprised of the following
lithium properties: La Ventana lithium concession, which is 100
percent owned by Bacanora and El Sauz and Fleur concessions, which
are held by Mexilit S.A. de C.V. ('Mexilit') which is owned 70
percent by Bacanora and 30 percent by Cadence Minerals Plc.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:
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 the potential
increase in resources and life of mine at the Zinnwald Project,
Deutsche Lithium's plans to explore the Falkenhain deposit over the
next five years, ongoing activities associated with the completion
of a Feasibility Study on the Zinnwald Project, and the Company's
expectation re commencement of the construction phase on the Sonora
Lithium Project in H1 2018. 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. Readers are cautioned that this list of
risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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