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Argentina
Sal de Vida Project

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 Location:
174 km SW from Salta, Argentina

  Project Contacts:
Mamerto Medina 17, 2nd Floor,
Catamarca
Argentina
4700
Phone  ...  Subscription required
WebsiteWeb
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  • Overview
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  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageConstruction
Mine TypeSurface
Commodities
  • Lithium
Mining Method
  • Brine mining
Production Start...
Mine Life40 years (as of Jan 1, 2022)
Sal de Vida is a globally competitive project with superior brine chemistry that readily upgrades to battery grade lithium carbonate.


Owners

Source: p. 66
CompanyInterestOwnership
Allkem Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Galaxy Lithium (Sal de Vida) S.A. (operator) 100 % Direct
Ownership Tree
All of Galaxy’s mining tenement interests in the Sal de Vida Project are held by Galaxy Lithium (Sal de Vida) S.A.,
which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Galaxy Resources Ltd. (Australia) which is owned by Allkem Ltd.

Contractors

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Deposit Type

  • Brine


Summary:

The deposit model is summarized from Munk et al. (2016) and Houston et al. (2011).

Lithium is found in four main types of deposits:
• Pegmatites;
• Continental brines;
• Hydrothermally-altered clays;
• Oil-petroleum deposits within salty and brine waters underneath hydrocarbons reservoirs.

Continental brine deposits typically share the following characteristics:
• Located in semi-arid, arid, or hyper-arid climates in subtropical and mid-latitudes;
• Situated in a closed basin with a salar or salt lake. Salars or salt crusts are common where brines exist in subsurface aquifers;
• Occur in basins that are undergoing tectonically-driven subsidence;
• Basins show evidence of hydrothermal activity;
• Have a viable lithium source (e.g., high-silica volcanic rocks, pre-existing evaporites and brines, hydrothermally-derived clays, and hydrothermal fluids). The nearly 5,900-m-high resurgent dome of the Cerro Galán caldera may be an important recharge area for Salar del Hombre Muerto at ~4,000 m elevation;
• Have an element of time-stability to allow the leach, transport, and concentration of lithium in continental brines.

The majority of important lithium-rich brines are located in the “lithium triangle” of the Altiplano–Puna region of the Central Andes of South America and are classified either as “immature clastic” or “mature halite” types.

Houston et al. (2011) note that a key input is th ........


Mining Methods

  • Brine mining


Summary:

Brine operations are not conventional mining operations — the resource is recovered by pumping from deep wells rather than recovering the mineral as a solid ore. The East Wellfield will be located directly above the east sub-basin of the Salar del Hombre Muerto, over the salt pan. The brine distribution will traverse the salar towards to where the evaporation ponds will be located. The production plant will be sited adjacent to Stage 1´s evaporation ponds that will be directly situated to the south on colluvial sediments. The waste disposal areas will surround the evaporation ponds to the north, east, and southeast.

Mobile equipment will be required for plant and pond operations. Some transport services would be supplied to Galaxy under contract with local companies; however, in most cases the equipment would be owned and operated by Galaxy. Galaxy will provide fuel and servicing for all vehicles, with the exception of reagent and product logistics.

Wells and Wellfields
There are two wellfields being considered for production: one in the East and one in the Southwest. For Stage 1, only wells from the East Wellfield will be used, while Stage 2 will utilise the Southwest Wellfield. All production wells will be connected through pipelines to centrally positioned booster ponds. Stage 1 will utilise nine wells, eight of which will be operational during peak brine pumping season, with one on standby.

The production well locations were selecte ........


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

- subscription is required.


Projected Production:
Saleable product is expected to be battery-grade (80%) and technical-grade (20%).

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Lithium t 44,6541,786,177
All production numbers are expressed as carbonate.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics
Annual production capacity  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2022 study.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at March 31, 2022:
Reserve Estimate Assumes 500 mg/L Li cut-off, 70% Li process recovery.
Resource Estimate Cut-off grade: 500 mg/L lithium.

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained MetalRecoverable Metal
Proven cu. m Lithium 805 mg/L 50,725 t
Proven cu. m LCE t 270,000 t
Probable cu. m Lithium 773 mg/L 276,193 t
Probable cu. m LCE t 1,470,118 t
Proven & Probable cu. m Lithium 778 mg/L 326,919 t
Proven & Probable cu. m LCE t 1,740,119 t
Measured 617 M cu.m Lithium 757 mg/L 467,235 t
Measured 617 M cu.m LCE t 2,487,000 t
Indicated 887 M cu.m Lithium 793 mg/L 703,201 t
Indicated 887 M cu.m LCE t 3,743,000 t
Measured & Indicated 1,500 M cu.m Lithium 775 mg/L 1,170,437 t
Measured & Indicated 1,500 M cu.m LCE t 6,230,000 t
Inferred 210 M cu.m Lithium 563 mg/L 116,668 t
Inferred 210 M cu.m LCE t 621,000 t
Total Resource 1,700 M cu.m Lithium 752 mg/L 1,287,105 t
Total Resource 1,700 M cu.m LCE t 6,851,000 t

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnitsAverage
Site cash costs (produced) Li2CO3 USD  ......  Subscription required&nbs
Cash costs Li2CO3 USD  ......  Subscription required&nbs
Assumed price Li2CO3 USD  ......  Subscription required&nbs
* According to 2022 study / presentation.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

2022 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Proposed Heavy Mobile Equipment as of March 31, 2022:
HME TypeModelSizeQuantity
Compactor ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
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Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 31, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 31, 2022
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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 31, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 31, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 31, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 31, 2022
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

Total WorkforceYear
Subscription required 2022

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
Annual Report 2022
Corporate Presentation 2022
Corporate Presentation 2022
Corporate Presentation 2022
Quarterly Report 2022
Technical Report 2022
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
Feasibility Study Report 2018
Other 2018
Annual Report 2017
Feasibility Study Report 2013
Technical Report 2012
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Subscription required - Subscription is required.

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