Name of the Project
Sonora lithium project.

Location
Sonora state, Mexico.

Project Owner/s
Bacanora Minerals.

Project Description
A feasibility study on the project has confirmed the positive economics and favourable operating costs of 35 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate.

The project has measured and indicated mineral resources estimated at five-million tonnes comprising 1.9-million tonnes of measured resources and 3.1-million tonnes of indicated resources of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and an additional inferred mineral resource of 3.7-million tonnes of LCE.

The feasibility study envisages an openpit operation using continuous miners to mine the ore zones and a truck-and-shovel fleet to remove the waste material. An estimated 37.1-million tonnes of ore will be mined over the planned 19-year mine life, with a lithium grade of 4 151 parts per million and an average stripping ratio of about 3.4:1 over the life-of-mine.

The process plant has been designed to initially process 1.1-million tonnes a year of ore during Stage 1 of the project, subsequently increasing to an estimated 2.2-million tonnes a year at Stage 2, producing 17 500 t/y and 35 000 t/y of lithium carbonate respectively.

The plant design also includes a circuit to produce up to 30 000 t/y of potassium sulphate and/or sulphate of potash product through a series of evaporation and precipitation stages.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The feasibility study estimates a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.25-billion and an internal rate of return of 26.1%, with a simple payback Stage 1 of four years.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 of the project is expected to cost about $419.62-million and Stage 2 $380.26-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Production is targeted for 2021.

Latest Developments
Bacanora Lithium continues to progress all its work streams, despite the timetable for the engineering work at its Sonora lithium project having been impacted on by delays in Asia and North America because of the Covid-19 virus outbreak.

Completion is now scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

Ganfeng Lithium, like all Chinese companies, was severely affected by the travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese government to slow the spread of Covid-19 during February and early March.

Although these restrictions are now being lifted, the return to work has been slow, Bacanora has said.

Ganfeng's main lithium processing plant at Xinyu is resuming operations and lithium production is building up.

As a result of this slow return to work, the Ganfeng test plant and project team have also resumed work on the Sonora flowsheet optimisation and process engineering, and while some weeks of engineering have been lost, the completion of engineering and equipment selection is now scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

Ganfeng will, subsequently, provide Bacanora with an engineering, procurement and construction-style engineering proposal to produce downstream battery-grade lithium products from the Sonora lithium plant.

This schedule remains under regular review with regard to the ongoing Covid-19 situation and shareholders will be updated regularly as the engineering process develops, Bacanora has noted.

Bacanora has indicated that the company remains well capitalised, with more than $47-million cash in the bank and, together with its supportive shareholders and partners, “it is well positioned to withstand the continued effects of Covid-19".

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Bacanora Minerals, tel +1 403 237 6122, fax +1 403 237 6144 or email info@bacanoraminerals.com.