Overview
Stage | Preliminary Economic Assessment |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
- Truck & Shovel / Loader
- Undefined backfill
|
Mine Life | 40 years (as of Jan 1, 2023) |
Tonopah Lithium Claims Project is one of the Largest Advanced Lithium Resources in the US.
The Preliminary Economic Assessment Technical Report presents a baseline scenario that assumes an initial 4.4 Mt/y processing throughput expanding to 8.8 Mt/y (corresponding to nominal lithium carbonate (LC) production of 24,000 and 48,000 t/y, respectively). |
Source:
p. 25
The property is registered with the Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Nye County and is wholly owned by American Lithium.
Contractors
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Summary:
The structural setting, host lithologies, and mineralization observed on the Tonopah Lithium Claims (TLC) Property is similar to the lithium in smectite clay model proposed by Asher-Bolinder (1991).
Local Geology
Surficial geology within the Property boundary is mapped as a Quaternary-aged flat alluvial outwash plane. The outwash plane is interspersed with shallow washes draining towards the west. The shallow washes partially expose underlying fines-dominant sediments and lithic tuffs of the Tertiary Miocene-age Siebert Formation. Exploration drilling on the Property shows the outwash plane surface alluvium to have an average thickness of 22 feet (ft) (6.7 metres (m)). Bordering the Property are rhyolite intrusions in the east and andesite in the north that are exposed on the high ground.
Alluvium ranges from 3 to 157 ft, with the thicker alluvium in the north regions of the property. Bordering the Property along the east-central edge is a predominant rhyolite intrusion, other volcanics occur at the southeast, northeast, and northwest Property edges.
The dominant lithology below the alluvial cap varies throughout the Property. Below the alluvial cap, lithology as observed from drill hole records, are finely laminated claystone beds with lenses of sandstone and conglomerate with occasional volcanic tuff and ash layers. Collectively, this mixed unit of lacustrine sedimentary beds and minor volcanics is referred to as claystone or “upper cl ........
Mining Methods
- Truck & Shovel / Loader
- Undefined backfill
Summary:
The characteristics and relatively shallow depth from surface of the mineralized material make it suitable for open pit mining. The mine plan utilizes an open pit truck/shovel mining method and no drilling or blasting activities are envisioned. The mining sequence has been optimized to minimize the stripping ratio while maximizing the grade being mined from the open pit.
The schedule has an initial LC production target of 24,000 t/y for the first 6 years and then steps up to 48,000 t of LC/y. until the end of year 17 (note that year 1 is a pre-production year) This is achieved through an average feed grade of 1,400 ppm to the primary crusher for the first 17 years of mineralized material mining followed by 7 years of 1,200ppm feed grade. Once mining operations from the open pit are completed in year 20, then the MM stockpiles are drawn down to continue to feed the primary crusher with material to the end of the mine life in year 40. The grade continues to drop as
the MM stockpiles are drawn down, but the feed grade stays well above the cut off feed grade of approximately 500ppm. Grade bins below 800ppm are not reclaimed in this mine schedule but have been stockpiled separately from waste material as they may be utilized for blending of higher-grade material in future phases of the project.
Based on the geotechnical data available and a regional understanding of the material being mined an overall slope angle of 45 degrees was used for pit design cr ........
Source:
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Flow Sheet:
Summary:
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Pipelines and Water Supply
Source:
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Projected Production:
Commodity | Units | Avg. Annual | LOM |
Lithium
|
t
| 38,157 | 1,462,913 |
All production numbers are expressed as carbonate.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Annual production capacity
| ...... |
Annual processing capacity
| ...... |
Annual processing rate
| ...... |
Waste tonnes, LOM
| ...... |
Ore tonnes mined, LOM
| ...... |
Total tonnes mined, LOM
| ...... |
* According to 2023 study.
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Reserves at October 6, 2022:
All lithium resources on the TLC Property are surface mineable at a stripping ratio of 2.4 waste yd3/ton (0.8 m3/tonne) at the base case cutoff grade of 500 ppm lithium.Conversions: Li2CO3:Li ratio = 5.32, LiOH.H2O:Li ratio =6.05.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Measured
|
860 Mt
|
Lithium
|
924 ppm
|
0.79 Mt
|
Measured
|
860 Mt
|
Li2CO3
|
|
4.2 Mt
|
Measured
|
860 Mt
|
LiOH-H2O
|
|
4.78 Mt
|
Indicated
|
1,192 Mt
|
Lithium
|
727 ppm
|
0.87 Mt
|
Indicated
|
1,192 Mt
|
Li2CO3
|
|
4.63 Mt
|
Indicated
|
1,192 Mt
|
LiOH-H2O
|
|
5.26 Mt
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,052 Mt
|
Lithium
|
809 ppm
|
1.66 Mt
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,052 Mt
|
Li2CO3
|
|
8.83 Mt
|
Measured & Indicated
|
2,052 Mt
|
LiOH-H2O
|
|
10.04 Mt
|
Inferred
|
486 Mt
|
Lithium
|
713 ppm
|
0.35 Mt
|
Inferred
|
486 Mt
|
Li2CO3
|
|
1.86 Mt
|
Inferred
|
486 Mt
|
LiOH-H2O
|
|
2.12 Mt
|
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