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Argentina
Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes Project

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 Location:
141 km W from Salta, Argentina

  Project Contacts:
Vicente López 653, Esquina: Pasaje Mollinedo
Salta
Argentina
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  • Filings & News

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Overview

StagePermitting
Mine TypeIn-Situ
Commodities
  • Lithium
Mining Method
  • Solution mining
Processing
  • Lithium Carbonate Plant
  • Sodium carbonate (reagent)
  • Ion Exchange (IX)
  • Solar evaporation
Mine Life20 years (as of Jan 1, 2019)
As of February 16, 2021 the company has not provided project timeline update since January 17, 2019.
Latest NewsLSC Lithium Files Technical Report for Positive PEA for the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes Project     January 18, 2019


Owners

Source: p. 14
CompanyInterestOwnership
LSC Lithium Corp. 100 % Indirect
LitheA Inc., Sucursal Argentina S.A. 100 % Direct
The mining concessions which make up the Pozuelos Property are currently registered under the name Lithea Inc. Sucursal Argentina, a wholly owned subsidiary of LitheA Inc., which in turn is wholly owned by LSC.
At Pastos Grandes, LSC controls 2,683 [ha] on the salar and immediately adjacent area as mining concessions. The tenements held by LSC are located on the east and west sides of the salar.

Deposit Type

  • Brine


Summary:

Pastos Grandes and Pozuelos are both classified as salars, which are brine formations containing elevated levels of metals in solution, typically as salts. Salars can be found at elevations from 1,000 [m] to more than 4,000 [m] above sea level. They typically represent the end product of a basin infill process that starts with the erosion of the surrounding relief, beginning with deposition of colluvial talus and fan gravels and grading upwards to sheet sands and playa silts and clays as the basin fills. There are numerous variations on the model and the literature provides ample discussion of the relevant tectonic and sedimentary processes involved in both general and specific terms (Hardie et al, 1978; Reading, 1996; Warren, 1999; Einsele, 2000); and specifically with regard to the Altiplano-Puna (Ericksen and Salas, 1989; Alonso et al, 1991; Chong et al., 1999, Bobst et al, 2001; Lowenstein et al., 2003; Risacher et al., 2003; Vinante and Alonso, 2006).

Lithium brine projects differ significantly from hard rock mining projects due to their fluid nature. The important considerations of a brine deposit are the contained elements and chemistry of the brine and the characteristics of the host aquifer, such as aquifer extent, thickness, internal variations/heterogeneity and the physical aquifer properties, particularly porosity.

Lithium brine projects can be subdivided into two broad ‘deposit types’, depending on the salar characteristics (Houston et. al., 2011):
- Mature salars (those containing extensive thicknesses – often hundreds of meters - of halite, such as the salar de Atacama, the salar Pozuelos and the salar Hombre Muerto operation), and;
- Immature salars, which are dominated by clastic sediments, with (usually) limited thicknesses of halite. Examples are salar de Pastos Grandes, salar Pocitos and salar Olaroz/Cauchari.

Mineralization at salar de Pozuelos and Pastos Grandes consists of a lithium and potassium enriched brine of the SO4-Na-Cl variety. The brine is present throughout the salar as one or more aquifers separated by semi-permeable layers composed of sand/clay/halite mixtures. Borates (as ulexite) are primarily present within the upper 1 [m] – 2 [m] of the playa zone in the northern sector of the salar de Pozuelos basin. Borates at Pastos Grandes may be present in thin zones at almost any depth in the salar.

Sampling of brines at Pozuelos shows that the Mg:Li ratio is typically in the range of approximately 5:1 to 7:1, with lithium grades varying across the salar and with depth, but typically in the range of approximately 300 [mg/l] to approximately 600 [mg/l]. Brines at Pastos Grandes show relatively low surface values for lithum (100 [mg/l] – 300 [mg/l]) but can be locally higher. Samples recovered at depth show increased lithium values typically in the range of 300 [mg/l] to approximately 600 [mg/l]. The average Mg:Li ratio at Pastos Grandes is approximately 6.3:1.

Calcium and sulphate values at Pozuelos and Pastos Grandes are complementary, permitting blending of the brines to achieve efficient precipitation of undesirable salts.


Mining Methods

  • Solution mining


Summary:

The mining method considers 24-hour extraction of brine from production wells. Brine extraction considers the use of electrical submersible pumps in each production well. The brine is pumped through a pipe network that connects each production well field (Pastos Grandes and Pozuelos) with the Brine Transfer/Mixing Pond located at Pozuelos. From there the mixed brine is pumped to the evaporation ponds, the first stage of the project’s processing component.

The operating brine extraction wells will be relocated throughout the brine resource areas of both salars during the life of the project.
Additional wells are added as required to provide constant blended flow as the salar draws down over time. The associated network of brine gathering pipelines will be relocated and amended to service the operating well locations as they progress across the salars. It is envisioned that brine will be supplied by a combination of deep and shallow wells and trenches.

Basic mining infrastructure for brine extraction considers:
- Consolidated access road and platform for rig and well services
- Consolidated pad for drill location and drilling equipment
- Production wells, including pumps and electricity supply
- Pipe network connecting each well area to the process area (evaporation ponds and process plant) .

A total of 1200 [m3/h] of raw brine feed is required to support the lithium carbonate production system. The system targets a blend of 500 [m3/h] from Pastos Grandes and 700 [m3/h] from Pozuelos. The Pozuelos feed blend initially targets production of 500 [m3/h] from the deep southern depositional centre, with the remainder being produced from shallow trenches immediately south of the evaporation ponds.

When the higher grade portions of Pozuelos are depleted after several years of operations, additional wells will be added in the lower grade areas, which will be supported by additional primary evaporation ponds. This is currently expected to occur in Year 7. The connection between Pozuelos and the well field in Pastos Grandes is expected to be completed in Year 3 of mining operations.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Lithium Carbonate Plant
  • Sodium carbonate (reagent)
  • Ion Exchange (IX)
  • Solar evaporation

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

The project considers the production of 20,000 tons per year (TPY) of Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate (Li2CO3). The lithium is obtained from brines extracted from Pastos Grandes and Pozuelos Salars to produce a brine blend within the desired ratio of impurity elements.

The process plant is conveniently divided into two discrete building blocks:

- Brine Treatment Plant, which comprises the processes of evaporation and chemical treatment for impurity removal in three sections:
- Primary concentration and primary brine treatment stage,
- Secondary concentration and secondary brine treatment stage,
- Tertiary concentration stage where the target lithium-in-brine concentration is achieved by evaporation.

- Lithium Carbonate Plant which comprises the final purification stages before lithium carbonate is produced, filtered, milled, dried and bagged for export. Included in this section are:
- Ion Exchange for the removal ........


Projected Production:

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Lithium t 20,000370,000
All production numbers are expressed as carbonate.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics
Annual production capacity  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2019 study.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at January 17, 2019:

CategoryTonnage CommodityContained Metal
Measured 12,066,000,000 cu. m Lithium 348,090 t
Measured 12,066,000,000 cu. m LCE 1,852,720 t
Indicated 4,768,000,000 cu. m Lithium 143,335 t
Indicated 4,768,000,000 cu. m LCE 763,760 t
Measured & Indicated 16,835,000,000 cu. m Lithium 491,450 t
Measured & Indicated 16,835,000,000 cu. m LCE 2,616,580 t
Inferred 7,452,000,000 cu. m Lithium 176,360 t
Inferred 7,452,000,000 cu. m LCE 938,500 t

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs Li2CO3 USD  ......  Subscription required *
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Li2CO3 USD  ......  Subscription required *
Assumed price Li2CO3 USD  ......  Subscription required *
* According to 2019 study / presentation.
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2019 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
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Heavy Mobile Equipment:

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Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
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News:

NewsDate
LSC Lithium Files Technical Report for Positive PEA for the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes Project January 18, 2019
LSC Lithium Announces Positive PEA Results of 20,000tpa Lithium Carbonate Operation From Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes Project December 4, 2018

Aerial view:

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