Maiden Resource Estimate Revealed For Nevada Lithium Clay Development
Spearmint Resources Inc. (CSE: SPMT) has received the Technical Report and maiden resource estimate on its 100%-owned Clayton Valley Lithium Clay Project in Nevada, USA. The Technical Report includes a maiden resource estimate of 815,000 indicated tonnes and 191,000 inferred tonnes for a total of 1,006,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE).
Spearmint’s Project is located 55 km west of the town of Tonopah. The Project is accessed off paved State Highway 265, which terminates at the Silver Peak Mine, and then by well-maintained county gravel roads. The Project consists of 26 contiguous unpatented placer claims that span from McGee 30 to McGee 55 and cover 890 acres (~360 hectares).
Drilling on the east half of the Project by Spearmint has discovered a continuous, well mineralised section up to 300 feet thick. The interpreted subsurface distribution of the mineralised claystone includes mixed sediments (tuffaceous mudstone) and green clay. The mixed sediments gradationally overly the green clays and are positively weathering relative to the green clay below. The majority (greater than 80%) of the mineralised claystone comprise the green clay unit.
The geologic model from which lithium resources are reported is a 3D block model. The resource estimates are contained within an economic pit-shell at a constant 45° pit slope to a maximum vertical depth of 163 m below surface, using a base case cut-off grade of 400 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 cut-off grade for an eventual lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) product:
- Mining costs US$2/tonne;
- Processing costs US$15/tonne;
- Processing recovery 80%; and
- US$10,000/tonne revenue for Li2CO3 product.
For more information visit https://www.spearmintresources.ca/
