CALGARY, AB, Nov. 24, 2020 /CNW/ - E3 METALS CORP. (TSXV:
ETMC) (FSE: OU7A) (OTC: EEMMF) (the "Company" or "E3 Metals"), an
emerging lithium developer and leading lithium extraction
technology innovator, is pleased to announce its Aquifer Management
Plan and resource increase, in conjunction with the recently
announced PEA (see news release dated November 16, 2020), on the Clearwater Lithium
Project.
Updated Resource Estimate
The inferred mineral resource estimate for the Clearwater
Project Area has been updated to 410,000 tonnes of elemental
lithium. The updated resource now totals 2,200,000 tonnes of
lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), from 1,900,000 tonnes LCE, with
E3 Metals now holding 7.0Mt LCE inferred mineral resources. It is
reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral
Resource Estimate could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Reserves
with continued exploration. In 2021, E3 has an expanded geological
program planned that leverages decades of existing oilfield data to
support E3's goal of upgrading the Company's Clearwater resource.
Several factors contributed to the updated estimate,
including:
- An updated Aquifer Management Plan, including well network
modeling, has outlined the ability for the reservoir to produce a
larger amount of lithium from brine than was originally envisioned,
increasing the production factor from 50% to 80% in some
areas;
- New Permits resulted in an expansion of the resource area by 85
km2 in comparison to the initial resource estimate in
2017; and
- New and repeated sampling within the resource area has resulted
in an updated average concentration of 74.6 mg/L Li.
Production Plan
In order to produce lithium products, brine from the Leduc
Aquifer will be pumped to surface from a series of production wells
operating at approximately 3,300
m3/day using electric submersible pumps. A group
of wells will be located at two brine production areas, located to
the north and south of the Central Process Facility (CPF), each
producing just over 64,000
m3/day (Figure 1). Additional wells have been
planned and included in the cost estimate for redundancy purposes.
From there, the brine will be transported through underground
pipelines, each about 15 km in length, to the CPF for pre-treatment
and lithium extraction using E3's proprietary Direct Lithium
Extraction (DLE) process. After the lithium is removed, the brine
will be re-injected back into the aquifer through a series of
wells located in proximity to the CPF.
Aquifer Management Plan
An Aquifer Management Plan (AMP) is an essential step to
promoting resource longevity. Starting with an understanding of the
aquifer's natural geological characteristics, the long-term
behaviour and movement of the brine in the subsurface is modelled
while leveraging the aquifer's key advantages. These include the
reservoir characteristics (or the ability for brine to flow within
it) and size and of the Leduc Aquifer, which spans 100's of
km2.
Building upon this, E3 Metals has developed the Clearwater
Project Area Aquifer Management Plan after analyzing 60+ years of
oil, gas and brine production across the project area. This
includes geological data, production data, and geophysical data,
including wireline logs, to characterize the aquifer. Based on the
aquifer characterization, an aquifer model was developed to predict
the movement of fluid and lithium in the reservoir during the
project life.
The production and injection plan outlined above results in a
pressure differential that effectively sweeps the production area
of lithium enriched brine from the injection wells to the
production wells. Figure 2 displays the modelled lithium
distribution after 10 years and 20 years of production. The Aquifer
Management Plan and associated modelling can support E3 to
efficiently manage fluid flow and mixing patterns in the subsurface
aquifer to extend the resource life across the Clearwater Project
Area.
"I am very pleased to see this advancement of E3's inferred
resource estimation in association with the release of our PEA
results", stated Liz Lappin, E3's VP
Corporate Affairs and Exploration, "As we move into the new year,
we plan to continue to advance the aquifer development program with
the goal of upgrading the resources to Measured and Indicated."
E3's Clearwater resource is
classified as inferred because geological evidence is sufficient to
imply but not verify geological, grade or quality continuity.
Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) is calculated by multiplying the
elemental lithium contained within the resource by 5.323.
About E3 Metals
E3 Metals is a lithium development company with 7.0 million
tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) inferred mineral
resources1 in Alberta.
E3 Metals is currently advancing its proprietary direct lithium
extraction (DLE) process in partnership with Livent Corporation, a
global leader in lithium production, under a joint development
agreement. Through the successful scale up its DLE process towards
commercialization, E3 Metals' goal is to produce high purity,
battery grade, lithium products. With a significant lithium
resource and innovative technology solutions, E3 Metals has the
potential to deliver lithium to market from one of the best
jurisdictions in the world. E3 Metals also continues to work with
partners at the University of Alberta
and at GreenCentre Canada. For more information about E3 Metals,
visit http://www.e3metalscorp.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
"Chris Doornbos"
President & CEO
E3 METALS CORP.
1. E3 Metals has released information on three NI 43-101
Technical Reports totaling a resource of 7.0 Mt LCE. The Central
Clearwater Resource Area (CCRA) Technical Report, identifying 1.9
Mt LCE (inferred), is dated effective
October 27, 2017, and the North Rocky Resource Area (NRRA) Technical Report was dated effective October 27, 2017,
identifies 0.9 Mt LCE (inferred). A third report for the Exshaw
West Resource Area (EWRA), identifies 3.9 Mt LCE (inferred) and was
filed on June 15, 2018, effective June 4, 2018. All
reports are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements
concerning the potential of the Company's projects and technology,
as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and
intentions. Forward looking statements are frequently identified by
such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate",
"estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events
and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current
opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking
information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of
assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative
nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating
commodity prices, the effectiveness and feasibility of emerging
lithium extraction technologies which have not yet been tested or
proven on a commercial scale or on the Company's brine, competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described
in more detail in our recent securities filings available at
www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution
against placing undue reliance thereon. We
assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable
law.
SOURCE E3 Metals Corp.