Cornish Lithium, the pioneering mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to announce another quarter of strong operational progress, which has culminated in the recognition of its exploration success with a prestigious award from the Resourcing Tomorrow Outstanding Achievement Awards. At the same event, Cornwall as a region was also awarded the Most Improved Mining Jurisdiction Award.
Work has continued towards the commercialisation of Cornish Lithium’s lithium in geothermal waters projects and significant progress has also been made at its Trelavour Hard Rock Project, both in Cornwall, UK.
HIGHLIGHTS
Corporate
- Exploration Discovery of the Year Winner at the Resourcing Tomorrow Outstanding Achievement Awards alongside Cornwall which claimed the Most Improved Mining Jurisdiction award
- Adam Howard and John Raymond joined the Board as representatives of UKIB and EMG respectively
Geothermal
- Test programme completed at Blackwater with results expected in the New Year
- Commenced drilling new geothermal borehole at Trelavour Downs
- Finalising the selection of a suitable site for a continuous flow demonstration plant
- Continued assessment of a pipeline of geothermal exploration sites across Cornwall
- Continued testing of the Koch DLE pilot plant which arrived on site in early September
- Promising further test work undertaken with KMX and Evove
Trelavour
- Ausenco appointed to lead the Trelavour Project Feasibility Study
- Mining Plus appointed to provide an updated Resource Statement and maiden Ore Reserve Estimate
- Demonstration Plant continues to be progressed with additional equipment arriving for the hydrometallurgical plant and first elements of the concentrator expected in the New Year
- Continued community engagement sessions undertaken with further activity planned for the New Year
Jeremy Wrathall, Founder and CEO commented: “We are delighted with progress during this quarter and the momentum this will generate into 2024. Development work at Trelavour continues apace and we look forward to progressing the Feasibility Study with Ausenco in the New Year. We are pleased to have commenced test drilling for geothermal waters at our Trelavour site and await the final results from our drilling programme at Blackwater.
“We are delighted that our progress was recognised at one of the largest mining events worldwide through Cornish Lithium winning the Exploration Discovery of the Year award, which is an honour that we are proud to accept. This recognition for Cornish Lithium is testament to the passion and drive of my hardworking colleagues who share my belief in the potential for lithium extraction in Cornwall. It is also fantastic to see Cornwall recognised as a powerhouse for change in the modern mineral extraction industry and that the County has the potential to take its place as a provider of critical minerals for the UK’s transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles, thus continuing the 4,000-year heritage of mineral extraction in the region.
“Now that Cornish Lithium has secured its landmark funding package, I believe that 2024 will be a pivotal year with the Trelavour demonstration plant being commissioned and the Feasibility Study underway. We will continue to explore the potential for lithium and geothermal energy across Cornwall and are excited that our fifth test borehole is currently being drilled. We continue to evaluate the optimal extraction process for lithium from geothermal waters and look forward to building a Demonstration Plant in the near future.”
Q4 UPDATE IN FULL
Cornish Lithium and Cornwall Recognised at Major International Mining Industry Awards
Cornish Lithium has been announced as the winner of the Exploration Discovery of the Year award and Cornwall has been declared Best Region in the Most Improved Mining Jurisdiction category at the Resourcing Tomorrow Outstanding Achievement Awards. The event honoured industry leaders and companies with 15 awards that showcased outstanding achievements in every aspect of the international mining industry. Cornish Lithium won the Exploration Discovery of the Year award for its discovery of extensive lithium-enriched brines beneath the surface of Cornwall.
Cornwall, as a region, was recognised for the revival of its mining fortunes, as a result of Cornish Lithium and Cornish Metals securing significant investment to advance their exciting mineral extraction projects.
Board Changes
Testing operations at Blackwater concluded in October and the site was fully reinstated in November, with the exception of re-seeding, which will be done in the spring when the ground is drier. The full results of the testing programme are being collated and interpreted, with results expected in the New Year.
Drilling of the next geothermal borehole at Trelavour commenced in November. The well is targeting a depth of 1,200m and it currently progressing as planned at a depth of c.600m. The well is expected to provide important geological data to further our understanding of the geothermal potential in the Trelavour area.
Plans are also being finalised for the location of a continuous flow demonstration scale plant with further details expected to be announced in the New Year as part of a programme of community engagement related to the site development.
Work has continued at the United Downs Geothermal Waters Testing Facility to test Koch Technology Solution’s (KTS’) DLE pilot plant. Further test work has also been undertaken with both KMX and Evove, which has yielded encouraging results. In the New Year, Forward Water Technologies’ forward osmosis module, will arrive and be tested.
Trelavour Hard Rock Project
Following the completion of a formal tender process, Cornish Lithium appointed Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC (“Ausenco”) to deliver the feasibility study for the Trelavour Project. Ausenco is a global engineering consulting firm with its team based across 26 offices in 15 countries – including team members based in Cornwall – with completed projects in over 80 locations worldwide. Work has now commenced on the Feasibility Study, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
Following the completion of its latest resource evaluation drilling campaign, which was finished at the end of September with c.14,000m of drilling completed, Cornish Lithium has appointed Mining Plus UK Ltd to compile the updated JORC Resource and maiden Ore Reserve Estimate. Mining Plus compiled the Maiden Resource statement for the Trelavour Project and are a leading mining technical services provider. The updated Resource, in support of the project’s Feasibility Study, is expected to be published in early 2024. The Resource update is being partly funded by a grant from the Automotive Transformation Fund (“ATF”) delivered in partnership between Innovate UK and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (“APC”) UK.
Further progress continues to be made on the Demonstration Plant at the TreLith Processing Site. A total of 10 skids for the hydrometallurgical section of the plant have now arrived with the first elements of the concentrator section of the plant expected to arrive in the New Year. Cornish Lithium is working with a number of contractors to build the Demonstration Plant, including Lancashire-based Ai Process Systems on the hydrometallurgical elements, and Galliford Try and Sepor on the concentrator elements. The Trelavour Demonstration Plant has been partly funded through a £1.8m grant from Innovate UK through the ATF. This forms part of the Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) UK Government funding competition secured in September 2022 for the hydrometallurgical section of the Demonstration Plant. Completion of the Demonstration Plant is expected by the end of Q1 2024. In addition to progress on the Demonstration Plant, construction of the ancillary facilities, such as the laboratory, visitors’ centre and welfare units, has now commenced.
Cornish Lithium has also continued a programme of community engagement for the Trelavour Project. Community drop-in sessions were held across the quarter with more planned for the New Year.
