International Lithium Corp announces together with joint venture partner Mariana Lithium Co. Ltd. ((“MLC”), a subsidiary of Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. (“Ganfeng Lithium”)) the adoption of a 2018 budget for continued work at the Mariana lithium brine project (“Mariana JV”) in Salta, Argentina, a joint venture between the two companies.
On December 27, 2017, ILC and MLC unanimously approved the budget for the 2018 calendar year for the Mariana JV. The budget calls for US $14,044,000 (US $17,343,517 including contingencies and administrative fees) to be invested in ongoing exploration and evaluation work including continuing studies that will be used to formulate a basis for a PEA, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018. The results of the PEA will be used to determine the course of action for pre-feasibility studies expected to be conducted throughout the remainder of the year.
International Lithium executive chairman Kirill Klip said: “This comprehensive budget for 2018 is expected to bring the Mariana JV to important valuation milestones for the company; preliminary economic assessment and pre-feasibility studies.
“We are looking forward to the confirmation that membrane technology provided by Ganfeng Lithium will allow our joint venture operation to produce lithium hydroxide in Argentina.”
The budget for 2018 will be used for continued natural evaporation studies, membrane separation studies, aquifer characterisation analyses, preliminary economic assessment (PEA), and pre-feasibility studies (PFS).