https://www.miningweekly.com

Argentina Lithium investigates Arizaro project for lithium-rich brines

Argentina Lithium & Energy is currently mobilising equipment to create access routes on the 20 500 ha Arizaro property, Argentina

Argentina Lithium & Energy is currently mobilising equipment to create access routes on the 20 500 ha Arizaro property, Argentina

Photo by Argentina Lithium & Energy

30th March 2017

By: Henry Lazenby

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: North America

     

Font size: - +

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – In the hope of capitalising on the growing demand for and rising prices of lithium, explorer Argentina Lithium & Energy is mobilising equipment to create access routes on the 20 500 ha Arizaro property, located in the middle of South American’s prolific lithium triangle that is home to over 70% of the world's known lithium reserves.

The Vancouver-based company plans to undertake near-surface geochemical sampling and a vertical electric sounding geophysical survey to delineate conductive zones at depth that may host lithium-bearing brines. Data from this first stage of the programme will be used to define targets for a drill campaign that is planned to start early in the second quarter, president and CEO Nikolaos Cacos tells Mining Weekly Online.

“We are excited to be taking the first step in a systematic exploration programme to investigate the Arizaro project for lithium-rich brines. At the same time, we are initiating baseline environmental studies and community engagement programmes, in anticipation of drilling, and potentially resource delineation, later this year,” he states.

BLUE SKY POTENTIAL
In October 2016, Argentina Lithium entered into an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Arizaro lithium brine project, located on the Arizaro Salar in the province of Salta.

Under the terms of the option agreement, the company may acquire a 100% interest in the Arizaro project by making scheduled cash payments to the vendor totalling $6-million, incurring exploration expenditures totalling $4.2-million and issuing 2.5-million common shares.

Director David Terry explains to Mining Weekly Online that the Arizaro project covers 20 500 ha in the central core of the Arizaro Salar. The salar is situated in the high plateau (Puna) region of north-western Argentina, at an average altitude of 3 600 m above sea level.

The salar covers an area of 1 600 km2 within a watershed of 6 000 km2, making it the third-largest salar in the lithium triangle, after Uyuni, in Bolivia, and Atacama, in Chile.

The salar is in a hyper-arid region, receiving on average less than 30 mm of rain a year, a necessary condition for the creation of evaporative brines. Drill holes of about 100 m depth, related to copper exploration to the north of the project area by previous workers in the Arizaro Salar, detected interbedded evaporate and volcanic material, reflecting the volcanic activity that accompanied the evaporite sedimentation in the region. The presence of geological structures such as faults and solution channels were also detected.

“The Arizaro Salar remains virtually unexplored at depth and this will be the primary exploration target for the company,” Terry says.

Previous work undertaken by the US Geological Survey sampled brines from the subsurface (about 2 m depth) that returned lithium values up to 160 mg/ℓ, confirming the presence of lithium in the basin.

The Arizaro Salar is strategically located with, surprisingly, substantial infrastructure considering that it is located in the Andes, which includes a railway that connects to the deepwater port of Antofagasta, nearby advanced mining projects such as First Quantum Minerals' Taca Taca project, that are expected to bring significant development of access routes and power to the area, and the local availability of water to support development.

DIFFERENTIATED EXPLORER
Cacos points out that the company has the support of Argentina-focused Grosso Group, led by Argentina mining pioneer and chairperson Joseph Grosso.

Grosso was one of the first movers when the country opened up its mining sector in 1993, having forged deep ties with both public and private players in the country.

Cacos further notes that Argentina Lithium benefits from the expertise of Dr Daniel Galli, who has developed and employed a proprietary patented process to produce lithium carbonate and battery grade lithium hydroxide from brines.

The company hopes to have an initial resource delineated by year-end, Cacos says.

According to Cacos, Argentina Lithium is in acquisition mode, in the hope of capitalising on significant room for consolidation in the junior lithium space. To this end, a strategy is currently under way to further expand the property holdings on the Arizaro Salar, and acquire other high-potential lithium brine projects in Argentina, he states.

“We have already been approached by battery manufacturers knocking on our door looking for lithium, just underscoring that the demand fundamentals remain strong,” Cacos states.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

Rittal
Rittal

Rittal is a world leading provider of top-quality integrated systems for enclosures, power distribution, climate control, IT infrastructure and...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Immersive Technologies
Immersive Technologies

Immersive Technologies is the world's largest, proven and tested supplier of simulator training solutions to the global resources industry.

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.25 0.287s - 107pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now