Spearmint Resources Inc. (CSE: SPMT) has received an updated Technical Report and Mineral Resource estimate for the 100-per-cent-owned McGee Lithium Clay Deposit in Clayton Valley, Nevada.
The Technical Report includes an updated Mineral Resource estimate of 1,369,000 indicated tonnes and 723,000 inferred tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) for a total of 2,092,000 tonnes of LCE.
“We are very pleased to have increased our mineral resource estimate by more than double that of our maiden resource estimate,” President of Spearmint Resources, James Nelson, said.
“We foresee continued consolidation within the lithium space and this updated report adds significant value to Spearmint. Our goal is to develop this deposit with the hope to secure a domestic source of lithium right in the heart of the Clayton Valley, Nevada, one of the top lithium districts in the world.
“The four holes drilled in 2022 allowed us to significantly expand the resource to the west and based on this report, further potential increases to this resource estimate are possible. Lithium prices and demand remain near all-time highs, up over 900% since the start of 2021.
“In addition, announced on March 31, 2022, President Joe Biden enacted the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production of strategic and critical materials, such as lithium and cobalt, needed to build batteries for electric vehicles and other types of energy technologies. This could provide a major catalyst and sector momentum for developing domestic sources of battery metals.”
The dimensions of the mineralised claystone on the Deposit have expanded significantly with the inclusion of four new drillholes in 2022 since the prior Loveday and Turner (2021) Technical Report. Mineralise claystone aerial footprint has expanded from 0.87 to 1.22 square miles (2.2 to 3.16 sq. km). This increase is the result of the placement of four new drillholes in the west of the Property in 2022 that sampled lithium claystone in a region previously interpreted as not containing lithium mineralization due to lack of supporting data.
The geologic model from which lithium resources are reported is an update of the 3D block model originally compiled by Loveday and Turner (2021). The resource estimates are contained within an economic pit shell at constant 45° pit slope to a maximum vertical depth of 885 ft (270 m) below surface using a base case cutoff grade of 300 ppm lithium to produce an eventual battery grade lithium carbonate product.
The following costs, recoveries and revenue, in metric units and US$, were used to derive a base case cutoff grade for an eventual lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) product:
- Mining costs US$2.50/tonne;
- Processing costs US$15/tonne;
- Processing recovery 80%; and
- US$14,000/tonne revenue for Li2CO3 product.
For further information please visit: https://www.spearmintresources.ca/
