Purchase of the Moolyella Lithium/Tin/Tantalum Project, Pilbara region WA and Conversion of $100,000 of the Arena Convertible Note
ASX Announcement 20 April 2018
Identification of Pegmatites at Moolyella Pilbara WA
Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) is pleased to advise the acquisition of Exploration Licence 45/4766 located within the Moolyella tin field in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, about 1300km north-east of Perth (see Figure 1 below). LIT purchased this tenement from Anova Metals Australia Pty Ltd. Consideration for the acquisition is $25,000 cash and $25,000 worth of fully paid shares in LIT valued at the 20-day VWAP of $0.1509 (equating to 165,653 shares)
The exploration licence subject of the Moolyella Project was granted on 4 July 2017 and lies approximately 18km east-southeast of the township of Marble Bar and 160 km southeast of Port Hedland. The project covers targets within the Fig Tree Gneiss, which is part of the Tambina Supersuite. Outcropping pegmatites occur as swarms with individual dykes being up to 15 m thick and traceable for up to 700 m along strike. Locally these pegmatites contain abundant lithium micas often associated with alluvial deposits of tin and tantalum. (See Figure 2) The transfer remains subject to any required regulatory approvals.
Abundant lithium in mine waste at Lepidolite Hill, Western Australia
ASX Announcement 18 April 2018
HIGHLIGHTS
- Successful concentration of lithium micas via ore-sorting
- Beneficiation via ore-sorting may enhance economics as a source of feed for Lithium Australia’s large-scale pilot plant (LSPP)
- Ore-sorting reject material contains lithium, probably in the form of petalite
- Petalite may provide an additional revenue stream
Further testwork on ore-sorting products from Lepidolite Hill indicates successful separation of lithium micas using an X-ray transmission ore-sorting method.
As announced on 8 March 2018, successful separation was visually apparent in initial ore-sorting testwork at TOMRA’s facility in Sydney, and also as shown below.
Chemical analysis of product and waste streams supports the successful partitioning of lepidolite lithium (more than 90%) in ore-sorting product versus ore-sorting reject material.
Lithium distribution in the product and waste streams is more even, with ore-sorting product grading 1.6% Li20 and the reject fraction grading 1.8% Li20. The unexpectedly high lithium assay in the waste probably indicates the presence of petalite which has physical characteristics similar to other minerals being rejected by the ore sorting process. (During the 1970s petalite was commercially produced from Lepidolite Hill for use in the ceramics industry.) Further analytical work, including quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis, is being undertaken to confirm this.
Existing stockpiles at Lepidolite Hill are potentially an attractive source of feed for Lithium Australia’s proposed LSPP, either as supplementary feed or a major source of feed.
Lithium Australia/VSPC to resume production of
lithium-ion cathode powder
ASX Announcement 18 April 2018
HIGHLIGHTS
- Acquisition of VSPC (the Very Small Particle Company) by Lithium Australia finalised
- Re-commissioning of cathode powder plant underway
- Recruitment drive for senior scientists and operational staff commenced
Acquisition of lithium-ion cathode producer VSPC
Lithium Australia NL (ASX:LIT) has completed its acquisition of advanced cathode material production technology by successfully acquiring 99.7% of the equity in technology company VSPC. Located in Brisbane, Australia, VSPC has spent 14 years and approximately A$30 million developing some of the world’s most advanced manufacturing techniques for the production of cathode materials. These materials are critical components of lithium-ion batteries, the burgeoning consumption of which is driven by rapidly increasing demand for EVs and consumer electronics. The advanced battery materials being developed by VSPC are also applicable to green energy solutions, including as back-up for sources of renewable energy.
Re-commissioning of the cathode plant
The VSPC takeover was completed in February 2018. Since then, time-critical service agreements have been negotiated, recruitment of technical and operating staff has commenced and service agreements have been arranged with universities to support the technical demands of the project. The VSPC facility, a 2 to 4 tonnes-per-annum pilot plant, incorporates an integrated laboratory, coin-cell production facility and battery-testing equipment. Plant inspections and servicing are underway, as is evaluation of equipment upgrades, to prepare for resumption of production in July 2018.
SADISDORF PROJECT UPDATE
ASX Announcement 12 April 2018
Maiden drilling campaign nearing completion today
Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) is progressing the polymetallic tin-lithium Sadisdorf project in Saxony, Germany, and as outlined in the ASX announcement of 28 February 2017, is farming into a joint venture (JV) with German company Tin International AG.
The Sadisdorf project has the potential to provide feed to a commercial scale SiLeach® lithium carbonate plant and is located on the doorstep of the German automotive industry, which is rapidly gearing up to produce large numbers of electric vehicles.
LIT announced on 7 December 2017 a JORC (2012) Inferred Mineral Resource of 25 million tonnes grading 0.45% Li2O (at a cutoff of 0.3% Li2O) at the project and Sadisdorf JV partner Tin International AG has previously defined a JORC (2012) tin Inferred Mineral Resource of 3.36 Mt grading 0.44% Sn (at a cutoff of 0.25% Sn).
Drilling update
As announced on 13 December 2017 a diamond-drilling programme was commenced at the Sadisdorf project, with the programme designed to validate historical drilling data and increase confidence in future mineral resource estimates.
Drilling progress at Sadisdorf has been slower than planned due to initial hole deviation issues and exceptionally cold winter weather conditions in Germany, which adversely affected drilling productivity.
