JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Lithium developer Bacanora has been granted an exploration licence of the previously mined Falkenhaim lithium deposit, in Saxony, Germany.
The licence is about 5 km from Bacanora’s 50%-owned Zinnwald lithium project and has the potential to increase the life of a mine at Zinnwald, the London- and Toronto-listed company reported on Wednesday.
CEO Peter Secker said that the exploration licence was a key milestone for Bacanora’s activities in Germany, as the company seeks to tap into the European battery and automotive sectors.
At Zinnwald, a feasibility study is under way to demonstrate the economic viability of producing higher value lithium products for the battery and automotive markets.
Bacanora reported that it had completed a resource infill drilling programme, comprising 15 infill drill holes and 4 458 m to upgrade the existing resource model in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, earlier than expected on December 27.
Chemical analysis of the drill cores would be completed in the first quarter and the results will be incorporated into a three-dimensional-model of the Zinnwald deposit.
Bacanora also owns the Sonara lithium project, in Mexico. A recently complete feasibility study has assigned the project a net present value of $1.25-billion and an internal rate of return of 26%.
“The recent feasibility study for Sonora demonstrates the company-making potential of our most advanced project. We are focused on building a portfolio of world class projects, and with this in mind I look forward to providing further updates on the ongoing feasibility study at Zinnwald,” Secker stated.