Name of the Project
Sepeda lithium project.

Location
The Sepeda project is located in northern Portugal, about 150 km north-east of Porto.

Client
Novo Lítio.

Project Description
The project hosts an estimated mineral resource of 10.3-million tonnes at 1% lithium oxide (Li2O).

A positive scoping study has determined that, based on current assumptions, the Sepeda deposit can be developed into an economically viable mining and processing operation to produce a petalite concentrate. Testwork has demonstrated that a lithium carbonate feedstock for the lithium-ion battery and energy storage industries can be produced.

A range of development scenarios was tested in the study, including various combinations of lithium carbonate and petalite concentrate production, and openpit and underground mining scenarios.

The study has opted for the production of a mineral concentrate as the preferred route of development, given the current size of the mineral resource, with an underground operation likely to result in the best outcome.

The study has also shown that the capital expenditure required to build a lithium carbonate plant would require the discovery and definition of a larger mineral resource to make this scenario economically feasible.

The preferred mining method is longhole open stoping, as it has the potential to produce more value than sublevel caving or the cut-and-fill mining method. The scoping study is based on a two-stage process design. Stage 1 includes the processing of mineralised pegmatite material through a concentrator located at the mine site to produce >4% Li2O petalite concentrate, which will be transported by road to the Port of Leixões, in Porto, for export. Stage 2 includes the processing of mineralised pegmatite material through a concentrator located at the mine site.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
To achieve the range of outcomes indicated in the scoping study, funding of $85-million to $250-million will likely be required, depending on which development scenario is adopted.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Novo Lítio has been engaging with Lusorecursos, in Portugal, to resolve the dispute concerning the ownership of the Sepeda lithium project.

This comes as a court last year denied Novo Lítio’s request for expedited legal proceedings to hear the matter.

Novo Lítio has been making a “concerted effort to engage with Lusorecursos without prejudice basis to resolve the matter outside the legal process”, noting that a protracted case would be damaging to both parties and all stakeholders.

Novo Lítio believes that it has a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the granted licence and licence applications held by Lusorecursos ARG and Lusorecursos LDA.

Taking into account that the Sepeda project licences are registered in the name of Lusorecursos, the Portuguese General Directorate of Energy and Geology cannot legally recognise Novo Lítio’s application for a mining licence.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Optiro (openpit optimisation assessment and economic analysis), Golder Associates (underground optimisation study) and Hatch (initial metallurgical testwork review and preliminary process design).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Novo Lítio, tel +61 8 9288 4408 or email info@novolitio.com.