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Canada’s Rodinia Lithium Inc. announced on Wednesday on results from its continued reverse circulation drill program at its Salar de Diablillos project located in Salta Province, Argentina close to FMC Corp’s lithium mine, the world’s third largest.
Continued drilling at Diablillos has resulted in further intersections of high grade lithium brine in the northwestern portion of the Salar, which management believes may have a positive impact on the recently defined resource estimate.
William Randall, President & CEO of Rodinia, commented “We are encouraged with high grade lithium results in areas that will have a significant impact on the potential of the property. DRC-19 shows that the high grade northwestern portion of the Salar is extensive and does not encounter fresh water on our property. This will be, in all likelihood, the focus of our development on the project and the location of our pumping test wells.
This area coincides roughly with the high grade area defined by our auger drilling and includes such holes as D-RC-01 which intersected lithium values of up to 810 mg/l and returned averages of 713 mg/L lithium, 9,000 mg/L potassium, and 543 mg/L boron over the 120 metre drill hole depth (refer to Press Release dated September 17, 2010).”
DRC-18 intersected 54 metres averaging 647 mg/l lithium (“Li”), 739 mg/l boron (“B”) and 7056 mg/l potassium (K) down to the bottom of the hole. This drill hole was collared in the north of the property outline towards the very west margin indicating mineralization right to the Salar margin to significant depths. The high grade brines encountered in this hole suggest that the northwestern portion of the deposit does not come in direct contact with fresh water sources, thus avoiding dilution problems in the event of sustained pumping in the future. In addition, the basements depths encountered exceed those predicted by the gravity survey.
Table 1 – Results from reverse circulation drill holes D-RC-18.
D-RC-18 intersected basement gneissic rocks at 88.5 metres. The basement is thought to be highly fractured resulting in a permeable unit with high grade lithium-potash brines. Flow rates in the fractured basement were higher or comparable to the predominantly sand and gravel lithologies found uphole.
Two more exploration holes were completed in the southernmost portions of the property on the Salar margins and/or off the resource area. These holes were designed to test the potential continuity of the brine past the defined resource. These two holes (D-RC-19 and D-RC-20) did not intersect significant mineralization with grades up to 140 mg/l lithium.
Diamond drilling and seismic survey contracts signed, evaporation pans installed
Rodinia is also pleased to announce that it has mobilized a diamond drill to its Diablillos property. The contractor has ample experience drilling in the tough Puna plateau conditions within sedimentary basins. The diamond drill will help refine the geological model of the basin stratigraphy as well as determine optimal placement of the pumping wells to be employed during the pump tests. The Company is currently finalizing the layout of the test and monitoring wells and will commence drilling them within the upcoming weeks. A minimum of two drills will be active on this work program to ensure expeditious results.
In addition, the Company has engaged a contractor to complete seismic profiles of the entire property. The results of the survey are thought to aid in the interpretation of the basement depth and shape, structural geology, and determine the continuity of the relatively minor clay layers encountered during drilling. The intent is to properly isolate the three aquifers to further understand the effect of sustained production in the event of commercial production.
Ray Spanjers, Manager of Exploration of Rodinia, commented “We expect to significantly refine and improve our understanding of the Diablillos deposit with this work program in order to accelerate completion of the Preliminary Economic Assessment. We have also installed four evaporation pans which, in conjunction with over 2 years of weather data from the immediate vicinity of the Salar, will allow us to accurately model the evaporation process and ensure we maximize our lithium and potash recoveries.”
A sampling procedure was enforced by management to ensure sample integrity during the drill program. Where possible, brine and sediments samples were air lifted, and water restricted to the upper part of the hole before the water table was intercepted. Once brine bearing horizons were intercepted, drilling was halted and the drilling pipe lifted 2 feet or more to allow the total flushing of the internal pipe by means of air pressure for approximately ten minutes or until the brine appeared reasonably clean of sediment. After sufficient air lifting of the brine, a sample was collected in 500 ml sample bottles that had been washed three times with the brine. Liquid was also collected in five gallon buckets and the time of filling of the bucket recorded, in order to aid in quantifying the formational flow.
The Project is supervised by Ray Spanjers, Rodinia’s Manager of Exploration. Mr. Spanjers is considered a qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this release. According to the Company’s sampling protocol, sample size is to exceed 500 millilitres and be stored in clean, secure containers for transportation. The prepared samples are then forwarded to the ALS Laboratory Group, Environmental Division, in Fort Collins, Co (USA) for analysis. A rigorous QA/QC program is implemented consisting of regular insertion of standards and blanks to ensure laboratory integrity.
About Rodinia Lithium Inc.:
Rodinia Lithium Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company with a primary focus on Lithium exploration and development in North and South America. The Company is also actively exploring the commercialization of a significant Potash co-product that is expected to be recoverable through the lithium harvesting process.
Rodinia’s Salar de Diablillos lithium-brine project in Salta, Argentina, contains a recoverable resource of 2.82 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent and 11.27 million tonnes potassium chloride equivalent. The project contains a recoverable inferred resource of 952,553,000 m3 grading 556 mg/L lithium and 6,206 mg/L potassium. Throughout 2011, Rodinia will focus on continuing to develop the Diablillos project by completing additional drilling and advancing through scoping study.
The Company also holds 100% mineral rights to approximately 70,000 acres in Nevada’s lithium-rich Clayton Valley in Esmeralda County, and is currently in the process of assessing the size, quality and processing alternatives of this deposit. The Clayton Valley project is located in the only known lithium-brine bearing salt lake in North America, and looks to represent the only new source for domestic lithium carbonate supply.
The Projects are supervised by Ray Spanjers, Rodinia’s Manager of Exploration. Mr. Spanjers is considered a Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43‐101.
For further details visit the company’s web site.
