CleanTech Lithium reports new lithium discovery

Highlights:

• Francisco Basin is located within 100 km of CleanTech Lithium’s more advanced Laguna Verde project, and has not previously been drilled for lithium.
• The first of four planned resource drill holes, FB01, was completed before the Chilean winter break in exploration activities.
• FB01 encountered a brine aquifer from 99 m to 303 m, whereby 34 brine samples were collected from regular intervals.
• Assays for the brine samples were received from an independent laboratory, ALS Chile, with a peak grade of 324 mg/L and an average grade of 305 mg/l.
• The company expects to produce a maiden JORC Inferred resource estimate in the coming weeks based on these results.
• On completion of the four holes, the resource estimate will be expanded and upgraded to measured and indicated.
• Drilling of the remaining three holes is planned to recommence from October 2022, where the second drill hole, FB02, has already been drilled to a depth of 106.5 m.
• Baseline studies are currently underway as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project, a key permitting step.
• A scoping study for the Francisco Basin project will commence immediately after completion of the scoping study currently underway for the Laguna Verde project.
• In a further update, the upgraded Laguna Verde JORC estimate planned for completion by the end of July 2022, is now scheduled in the coming weeks due to delays in lab-work in Chile.

Commenting, Aldo Boitano, Chief Executive Officer, of Cleantech Lithium PLC, said:

“We have completed the first resource drill hole at Francisco Basin and are very pleased with the lithium grades and aquifer thickness encountered, representing an important new discovery in the lithium sector. The results from the first hole will be used to produce a maiden JORC resource estimate for the project in the coming weeks, a significant milestone for the company. Drilling will recommence after the winter break to further expand and upgrade the resource estimate, while progressing key environmental and feasibility studies.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/08082022/cleantech-lithium-reports-new-lithium-discovery/