VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based lithium exploration junior Wealth Minerals has filed a Canadian National Instrument 43-101-compliant technical report with securities regulators that will guide a two-pronged exploration campaign at the company’s Atacama lithium project, in Chile.

To test the exploration potential for subsurface lithium-bearing brines at the project, the report recommends a comprehensive two-phase exploration programme, with the first phase entailing geophysical testing, with time domain electromagnetic surveying and potentially gravity and magnetotelluric techniques, to better define the subsurface environment, including basin configuration, sedimentary regimes, and possible brine presence at depth.

Depending on positive results, Phase 2 is recommended to include drill testing and pump testing, metallurgical testing, permitting, engineering and design, pilot-plant testing and development for production.

Wealth will spend about $550 000 on the first round of exploration, followed by the contingent Phase 2 budget of $15.5-million.

“The report filed today is an important development for Wealth and the project. The report provides an independent assessment of Wealth’s lithium brine exploration model and comprehensive recommendations for upcoming exploration and project evaluation,” stated Wealth CEO Henk van Alphen.

According to him, the Salar de Atacama is the only basin in South America where lithium is recovered using conventional evaporation techniques and it hosts about 15% of global lithium resources. “We are currently applying for permits to move forward with our exploration plans through the remainder of 2017.”

President Tim McCutcheon noted that despite being contiguous with existing production facilities, the northern portion of the salt flat had never before been explored for lithium brine potential, despite the geology and hydrogeology being similar to producing areas.

EXPLORATION POTENTIAL
The project comprises 144 exploration concessions comprising 46 200 ha in the Salar de Atacama, 220 km east of the northern Chilean city of Antofagasta. The project is located about 30 km north of the Soquem Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) potassium/lithium operation, and about 50 km north of Rockwood Holdings (the Albemarle Corporation’s business unit in Chile).

Both SQM and Rockwood produce potassium and lithium from brines at depth in the Salar de Atacama, which collectively produce over 62 000 t/y of lithium carbonate equivalent and account for 100% of Chile’s current lithium output.

According to the technical report, the main origin of lithium in the Salar de Atacama is interpreted to be the lithium-bearing geothermal waters from the El Tatio geyser field, located north of the salt flat. The geothermal fluids enter the northern part of the Salar de Atacama via surface and subsurface flow.

Further, the chemistry of the salt flat brines is almost identical to the chemistry of the geothermal fluids of El Tatio, further strengthening the interpretation that the El Tatio geothermal fluids are the source of lithium and potassium in the Salar de Atacama.

The geology of the project is similar to the sedimentary settings of other salt flats such as Maricunga, La Isla, Olaroz and Cauchari, where potentially economic lithium resources have been reported by other public and private lithium exploration companies. Regional studies of the Salar de Atacama’s geology, hydrogeology, climate and other factors provide a high level of understanding of the lithium brine processes in the region, lending credence to the exploration potential of the project, the company stated.

Wealth has formalised an option agreement with Atacama Lithium giving it the exclusive right and option to acquire a 100% royalty-free interest in the 144 exploration concessions. To secure the option, Wealth has paid $3-million in cash and issued two-million common shares to the vendor and agreed to pay and issue additional shares as set out in a schedule for total cash payments of $14-million and 15-million shares by March 1, 2019.

According to Wealth, Atacama possesses a very high grade of both lithium (1 840 mg/ℓ) and potassium (22 630 mg/ℓ), has a high rate of evaporation (an average of 3 200 mm/y) and extremely low yearly rainfall (an average of 15 mm), making it the easiest and cheapest place to produce lithium globally.