‘District Size and Scale’: Milestone resource upgrade delivers at Power Minerals’ Salta lithium brine project

Power Minerals upgrades Rincon salar resource by 343% to 292,564t LCE
More than half of the resource is in the high confidence measured and indicated categories, which enables mine planning
Upgrade also increases resources at the broader Salta project by 68% to 714,872t LCE
Company to finalise a preliminary economic assessment for lithium production at Rincon

Power Minerals has positioned its Salta lithium brine project in Argentina as a significant district-scale play after cranking up resources at the Rincon salar by 343% to 292,564t of lithium carbonate equivalent.

The 147.07km2 Salta project consists of five salares (salt lakes) within seven mining leases in Argentina’s part of the famed ‘Lithium Triangle’ that hosts a massive chunk of the world’s lithium resources.

Rincon itself is adjacent to Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO) Rincon project that has a measured and indicated resource of 5.8Mt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) along with an operating direct lithium extraction (DLE) pilot plant.

Meanwhile, the Incahuasi salar next to Ganfeng Lithium’s project is the subject of a joint venture with DLE technology provider Summit Nanotech.

A district-scale resource

Power Minerals (ASX:PNN) has now increased resources at Rincon by 343% to 292,564t LCE with 54% of this new figure, or 157,131t LCE at 258mg/L lithium, in the higher confidence measured and indicated categories.

Resources in the measured and indicated categories have sufficient information on geology and grade continuity to support mine planning.

Resource areas at Rincon; Northern area (left), Eastern area (central) and Southern area (right). Pic: Supplied (PNN).

The upgrade follows a recently completed resource drilling program at the Rincon salar.

More broadly, the upgrade increases resources at the Salta project by 68% to 714,872t LCE.

“Our new and upgraded JORC mineral resource at Rincon is another milestone and major step forward in our plans to develop the Salta project into a significant future source of battery-grade lithium,” managing director Mena Habib said.

“The Rincon mineral resource is a high-quality resource with a strong proportion in the measured category, and in aggregate it delivers district-scale size and scale to the Salta project’s global mineral resource.

“That we have been able to deliver multiple, step-change increases to the project’s mineral resource over the past six-months – first with the Incahuasi salar delivering an additional 249,308 tonnes of LCE in May, and now the Rincon resource further expanding the global resource to 714,872 tonnes LCE – is strong testament to the ability and commitment of our management and technical team.”

Next steps

PNN is now planning a pumping production well campaign as a deeper study into the dynamic of the aquifer and the impact of future production to properly evaluate the brine reserves.

It will also move to finalise a preliminary economic assessment – equivalent to a scoping study – to assess the production and life-of-mine profile, along with engineering and process costs, plus capital costs and operating costs for a potential high-quality LCE producing operation at Rincon.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Power Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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