Lithium Chile gets environmental approvals for Turi exploration drilling

Lithium Chile Inc. (TSXV: LITH) said on Friday that the Chilean Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIA) has approved the Canadian miner’s Turi exploration drilling program.  

Lithium Chile is the largest landholder of lithium salars in Chile outside of Chilean government and SQM. The company owns seventeen projects, encompassing 166,950 hectares on six salars. 

Surface access was successfully negotiated in early 2019 with the Turi Indigenous Community. With their support and input, an exploration drill program was designed in June of 2019, Lithium Chile said in a media statement.  

The company can now file a Notice of Work with the National Geological and Mining Service, and anticipates preparatory work for the first hole in their drill program will be initiated the last week of October and their drilling rig will mobilize to Turi during the first week of November. 

Turi covers 13,000 hectares (130 square kms) or approximately 95% of the Salar de Turi in the heart of the Chilean side of the lithium triangle. In the spring of 2019, a 5-line TEM geophysical survey of the property identified a large 63+ square kms, 200 – 350+ meter thick, high conductivity anomaly starting approximately 150 meters below surface. Near surface brine samples above the TEM anomaly contain lithium values ranging up to 590 mg/l and moderate to low magnesium to lithium ratios of 7.8. 

Friday afternoon, Lithium Chile’s shares were up over 6%, and trading volume was nearly double the daily average. The company has a C$32.6 million market capitalization.