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Two Perth companies partnering a new era of lithium development in Latin America – home to two thirds of the world’s lithium reserves – plan a twofold push to increase lithium prospective tenements in northern Argentina and Peru and bring new processing technologies to the region.
If successful, the outcomes will deliver them a maiden JORC standard lithium resource within 12 months and exclusive application in the region of a lithium technology proven to extract lower value depositions of the commodity from hard rocks where conventional processing has failed.
At stake is the opportunity to help catapult both Argentina and Australia up the global ranks of world suppliers, but partly at the expense of another major Latin American lithium supplier, Chile.
Addressing the first day of the two day Paydirt 2016 Latin America Downunder conference in Perth today, Latin Resources Managing Director, Mr Chris Gale, said the Company’s new processing partnership with fellow Perth lithium player, Lepidico, had the potential to better position Argentina as a third major supply source in existing global lithium markets.
“There were only a small number of suppliers servicing the global lithium carbonate output in 2014 of 180,000 tonnes and very few of these suppliers are ‘pure’ lithium plays,” Mr Gale said.
“Historically, the production of carbonates from brines has been restricted by high capital costs, long lead times and government imposed production sanctions – while hard rock spodumene deposits have been held back by resource scarcity and high operating costs.
“This has created an opportunity to explore for new lithium resources in the rich Latin American footprint but also using new technology there to unlock more value and provide an alternative technological outcome to convert less economic deposits commercially viable.”
Mr Gale said emerging current industry figures pointed to Argentina holding 11% of global lithium supply in calendar 2015, Australia 33% and Chile 37%.
These dynamics would change over the next decade however with Argentina potentially more than doubling its global market hold to 29% Australia adding another 6% market grab for 39% total share but Chile easing from 37% currently to 21%.
The two companies have signed a binding term sheet to form a joint venture to acquire and advance lithium projects in both Argentina and Peru.
The arrangement will use Lepidico’s proprietary L-Max technology which can extract commercial levels of lithium from less economic hard rock deposits where other conventional processes have failed.
The proposed JV is exclusive to Latin Resources for Argentina and Peru and applies to existing projects in the Company’s portfolio and new projects.
Mr Gale said Latin Resources was seeking to add at least four pegmatite concessions in underexplored northwest Argentina to its portfolio over coming months..
This province has been subjected to small-scale intermittent mining for more than 80 years and small-scale miners had produced more than 10,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate.
Waste dumps and tailings at existing Argentinian lithium mines would also be targeted for the L-Max workover.
