American Lithium Corp. (“American Lithium” or the “Company”)
(TSX-V:LI | OTCQB:LIACF | Frankfurt:5LA1) is pleased to announce
the successful precipitation of high purity, fertilizer-quality
potassium sulfate (“SOP”-sulfate of potash) by-product from the
Company’s Falchani Project. Testing confirms that in addition to
producing high quality lithium compounds, SOP can be produced to
potentially supply Peru with its domestic needs. Testing was
completed at Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
(“ANSTO”) Minerals Business Unit laboratories in Sydney, Australia.
The SOP produced by ANSTO from Falchani mineralization is 45%
potassium (“K”) and 20% sulfur (“S”) and falls within the
specification parameters of SOP marketed by various producers and
traders of K-based fertilizers.
Highlights:
- ANSTO’s work to
date validates the ability to produce high quality SOP at Falchani,
while continuing to refine flowsheet options and realizing the
lithium and by-product value contained within the deposit.
- As part of the
SOP production validation test work, the cesium and rubidium
extracted in the upfront acid leach have been separated from
lithium and work is on-going to realize the significance of these
two critical elements.
- Once all
by-products are validated, ANSTO will optimize the Falchani flow
sheet to maximize the precipitation of lithium carbonate while
enabling significant by-product production.
- The existing
Falchani PEA will be updated for these by-products and associated
revenue implications.
- Recent shortages
of fertilizers in Peru, with imports of SOP rising to over 60,000
tonnes per year, highlight the strategic importance of developing
significant domestic sources of supply.
Dr. Laurence Stefan, COO of American
Lithium, states, “The strategic importance of the ability
to produce significant amounts of SOP from Falchani cannot be
overstated. This by-product will not only provide an additional
potential revenue stream at Falchani, but more importantly will
also provide a major source of domestic SOP for Peru with the
potential to largely reduce the country’s dependence on imported
overseas fertilizers. Falchani has the potential to ultimately make
Peru self-sufficient for the SOP fertilizers required to produce
the high-value crops, fruit and vegetables that are major exports
for Peru. At the same time, the Company continues to refine its
flowsheet to maximize its ability to extract Cesium and Rubidium,
also critical minerals and potential by-products to further enhance
the Falchani project.”
The current test work program at ANSTO builds on
previous programs which have demonstrated the ability to produce
battery grade lithium carbonate from the Falchani mineralization.
This latest program has pursued to modify the baseline flowsheet to
allow the recovery of SOP, and cesium and rubidium by-products.
The definition of the SOP, and cesium and
rubidium recovery circuits has been performed with a ~20 kg sample
of representative / bulk Falchani feed material. In the baseline
flowsheet for Falchani, potassium alum is crystallized from the
resultant pregnant leach solution (PLS). This potassium alum is the
feed material for the SOP, and cesium and rubidium recovery
circuits and does not impact the downstream purification and
lithium carbonate precipitation circuits.
Table 1 - ANSTO Minerals Table of Analyses for Basic and
Refined SOP |
Element |
Basic K product (wt%)(1st pass SOP) |
Refined K product (wt%)(2nd pass SOP) |
Al |
0.04 |
<0.01 |
Ca |
<0.01 |
<0.01 |
Fe |
<0.01 |
<0.01 |
Li |
<0.01 |
<0.01 |
Na |
<0.04 |
<0.01 |
Ni |
<0.01 |
<0.01 |
P |
<0.01 |
<0.01 |
S |
20 |
20 |
Si |
<0.05 |
<0.05 |
Zn |
<0.01 |
<0.01 |
|
|
|
K |
45 |
45 |
Rb |
0.62 |
0.16 |
Cs |
<0.01 |
<0.01 |
|
|
|
Rb/K (%) |
1.4 |
0.35 |
Cs/K (%) |
<0.02 |
<0.02 |
Cs/Rb (%) |
<1.7 |
<6.5 |
About Peru SOP requirements &
Falchani PotentialPeru imports the entire amount of SOP
needed for its agricultural sector, mainly for high-value crops
that play a very important role in the balance of Peruvian
agricultural exports. The fertilizer crisis generated by the war in
Ukraine has exacerbated shortages in the fertilizer market, its
transport, distribution and increased fertilizer prices to
unprecedented levels and is linked to accelerating the sharp price
increase of fruit, vegetables, livestock feed etc., in the country.
The large amounts of SOP that American Lithium could potentially
produce from Falchani could cover the SOP needs of Peru when
compared with pre-pandemic requirements, with the possibility of
Peru becoming a net fertilizer exporter at full capacity.
Qualified PersonMr. Ted
O’Connor, P.Geo., a Director of American Lithium, and a Qualified
Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the
scientific and technical information contained in this news
release.
Completion of Acquisition of Highly
Prospective concessions near Falchani in Southern Peru The
Company has also completed its recently announced acquisition of
additional highly prospective concessions (14,243 hectares) in
Southern Peru near to its existing Projects. In consideration for
the additional concessions, the Company has paid US$400,000 and
issued 2,250,000 common shares to an arms-length vendor. The shares
issued are subject to restrictions on resale until October 22, 2022
in accordance with applicable securities laws.
About ANSTO MineralsANSTO
Minerals is an international mining consultancy group located in
Sydney, Australia, with an experienced team of 60+ engineers,
metallurgists, chemists, and scientists who have been providing
consulting services and process development services to the mining
and minerals processing industries for well over 35 years. ANSTO
Minerals has world-leading expertise in uranium ore processing,
rare earth processing, zirconium/niobium/hafnium processing, base
metals processing, lithium processing (brines and hardrock), and
radioactivity control and management.
About American
LithiumAmerican Lithium, a member of the TSX Venture 50,
is actively engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development
of lithium projects within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout
the Americas. The Company is currently focused on enabling the
shift to the new energy paradigm through the continued exploration
and development of its strategically located TLC lithium claystone
project in the richly mineralized Esmeralda lithium district in
Nevada as well as continuing to advance its Falchani lithium and
Macusani uranium development projects in southeastern Peru. Both
Falchani and Macusani have been through preliminary economic
assessments, exhibit strong additional exploration potential and
are situated near significant infrastructure.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of
American Lithium Corp.
“Simon Clarke”
CEO & Director
Tel: 604 428 6128
For further information, please contact:
American Lithium
Corp. |
|
Email:
info@americanlithiumcorp.com |
|
Website:
www.americanlithiumcorp.com |
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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 press release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward
Looking InformationThis news release contains certain
forward-looking information and forward-looking statements
(collectively “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of
applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are
not limited to, statements regarding the ability to appeal the
judicial ruling, and any other statements regarding the business
plans, expectations and objectives of American Lithium.
Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words
as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate",
"intend", “indicate”, “scheduled”, “target”, “goal”, “potential”,
“subject”, “efforts”, “option” and similar words, or the negative
connotations thereof, referring to future events and results.
Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and
expectations of management are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of
future results or events. Although American Lithium believes that
the current opinions and expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information
available at the time, undue reliance should not be placed on
forward-looking statements since American Lithium can provide no
assurance that such opinions and expectations will prove to be
correct. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain
and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties,
including risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to: American
Lithium’s ability to achieve its stated goals; risks and
uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent and
manner to which measures taken by governments and their agencies,
American Lithium or others to attempt to reduce the spread of
COVID-19 could affect American Lithium, which could have a material
adverse impact on many aspects of American Lithium’s businesses
including but not limited to: the ability to access mineral
properties for indeterminate amounts of time, the health of the
employees or consultants resulting in delays or diminished
capacity, social or political instability in Peru which in turn
could impact American Lithium’s ability to maintain the continuity
of its business operating requirements, may result in the reduced
availability or failures of various local administration and
critical infrastructure, reduced demand for the American Lithium’s
potential products, availability of materials, global travel
restrictions, and the availability of insurance and the associated
costs; the judicial appeal process in Peru, and any and all future
remedies pursued by American Lithium and its subsidiary Macusani to
resolve the title for 32 of its concessions; risks regarding the
ongoing Ontario Securities Commission regulatory proceedings; the
ongoing ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders, including
but not limited to local communities and all levels of government;
the potential for delays in exploration or development activities
due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the interpretation of drill results,
the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the
possibility that any future exploration, development or mining
results will not be consistent with our expectations; risks that
permits will not be obtained as planned or delays in obtaining
permits; mining and development risks, including risks related to
accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes (including work
stoppages, strikes and loss of personnel) or other unanticipated
difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development;
risks related to commodity price and foreign exchange rate
fluctuations; risks related to foreign operations; the cyclical
nature of the industry in which American Lithium operates; risks
related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis
and on acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental
approvals; risks related to environmental regulation and liability;
political and regulatory risks associated with mining and
exploration; risks related to the uncertain global economic
environment and the effects upon the global market generally, and
due to the COVID-19 pandemic measures taken to reduce the spread of
COVID-19, any of which could continue to negatively affect global
financial markets, including the trading price of American
Lithium’s shares and could negatively affect American Lithium’s
ability to raise capital and may also result in additional and
unknown risks or liabilities to American Lithium. Other risks and
uncertainties related to prospects, properties and business
strategy of American Lithium are identified in the “Risks and
Uncertainties” section of Plateau’s Management’s Discussion and
Analysis filed on January 19, 2021, in the “Risk Factors” section
of American Lithium’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis filed on
January 29, 2021, and in recent securities filings available at
www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements. American Lithium
undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements
except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should
not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Cautionary
Note Regarding Macusani Concessions Thirty-two of the 151
concessions held by American Lithium’s subsidiary Macusani, are
currently subject to Administrative and Judicial processes
(together, the “Processes”) in Peru to overturn resolutions issued
by INGEMMET and the Mining Council of MINEM in February 2019 and
July 2019, respectively, which declared Macusani’s title to 32 of
the concessions invalid due to late receipt of the annual validity
payments. In November 2019, Macusani applied for injunctive relief
on 32 concessions in a Court in Lima, Peru and was successful in
obtaining such an injunction on 17 of the concessions including
three of the four concessions included in the Macusani Uranium
Project PEA. The grant of the Precautionary Measure (Medida
Cautelar) has restored the title, rights and validity of those 17
concessions to Macusani until a final decision is obtained at the
last stage of the judicial process. A Precautionary Measure
application was made at the same time for the remaining 15
concessions and was ultimately granted by a Court in Lima, Peru on
March 2, 2021 which has also restored the title, rights and
validity of those 15 remaining concessions to Macusani, with the
result being that all 32 concessions are now protected by
Precautionary Measure (Medida Cautelar) until a final decision on
this matter is obtained at the last stage of the judicial process.
The favourable judge’s ruling confirming title to all 32
concessions from November 3, 2021 represents the final stage of the
current judicial process. However, this ruling has recently been
appealed by MINEM and INGEMMET. American Lithium has no assurance
that the outcome of these appeals will be in the Company’s
favour.
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