JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – After completing a successful $6.5-million capital raising in December, ASX-listed Plymouth Minerals has started the San Jose feasibility study, which it intends to complete this year.
To finalise the process of lodging the mining licence application (MLA), which earned Plymouth its initial 50% interest in the project, all supporting documentation has been submitted to the relevant authorities in Extremadura, Spain.
In an update published on Wednesday, Plymouth said that, together with its joint venture (JV) partner, Valoriza Mineria, the company had presented the lithium/tin project to various government authorities. These presentations included explanations of how the project would provide a positive impact on the nearby town of Caceres through the investment proposed and parallel employment generated.
The JV technology company, Technologia Extremena del Litio, had now transferred its registered physical address to Caceres, while the field operation office already located to Caceres in 2016.
“This change reflects the increasing level of work being undertaken on site and in Caceres. As the project moves towards development, the company is committed to obtaining the optimal outcome through liaison with the regional government and local stakeholder engagement,” Plymouth noted.
It added that the planned technical work for the feasibility study 2018 was substantial and would advance San Jose significantly. “This will also be matched by a keen focus on permitting and social aspects, which is best conducted from the local area and office in Caceres,” the company said.
Engagement with local stakeholders would now increase, while the increase in administrative and permitting activities would lead to the hiring of additional people working in Caceres going forward.
As part of the ongoing feasibility study, geotechnical and metallurgical drilling would start this month.
The metallurgical drilling would deliver representative bulk sample material for larger-scale testwork to produce increased quantities of battery grade lithium carbonate.
This programme would deliver representative material planned for the first several years of projected mine life and was important in delivering inputs for bankable feasibility studies. Additional process testwork (beneficiation) was being conducted in parallel to accelerate the completion of the feasibility study.
The company expects to complete the feasibility study by the fourth quarter.