Cornish Lithium Ltd. (the “Company” or “Cornish Lithium”), the innovative mineral exploration and development company based in Cornwall, UK, is pleased to announce a Maiden JORC-compliant Resource, signed off by Competent Persons, Mining Plus UK Ltd, for the Trelavour Lithium Project (the “Trelavour Project”). The Trelavour Project is located in a non-operational china clay pit in the St Austell region of Cornwall.
Highlights
- The total Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (the “Resource”) at the Trelavour lithium deposit is:
- 51.7 million tonnes (“Mt”) Inferred Mineral Resource at 0.24% lithium oxide (“Li2O”) for a total of 122.4 thousand tonnes (“kt”) of contained Li20.
- This equates to 51.7 Mt at 0.11% lithium (“Li”)
- 56,870 tonnes of contained Li metal, and
- 302,700 tonnes of contained Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (“LCE”)
- 56,870 tonnes of contained Li metal, and
- The Resource is expected to support a mine life of 15-20 years
- 51.7 million tonnes (“Mt”) Inferred Mineral Resource at 0.24% lithium oxide (“Li2O”) for a total of 122.4 thousand tonnes (“kt”) of contained Li20.
- The Maiden Resource is a key component of the current scoping study, which is on track to be published during Q2 2022 (the “Trelavour Scoping Study”). Key features of the study include:
- Study to be based on producing battery grade lithium hydroxide utilising Lepidico’s L-Max® / LOH-Max® low carbon processing technology, a patented hydrometallurgical process to extract Li and other Li by-products
- The Lepidico process is a low-energy, ambient condition leach using conventional industrial equipment and without the production of sodium sulphate
- Lepidico’s case studies have demonstrated lower capital and operating costs for the technology compared to other known processing routes
- Cornish Lithium has an exclusive licence in place with Lepidico which covers the entire St Austell granite region
- Bench scale testwork has demonstrated that the Lepidico technology is applicable to mineralisation found at the Trelavour Project
- Proximity to existing infrastructure is expected to reduce project capital costs
- Study to be based on producing battery grade lithium hydroxide utilising Lepidico’s L-Max® / LOH-Max® low carbon processing technology, a patented hydrometallurgical process to extract Li and other Li by-products
- The Resource contains higher-grade zones, some of which are at surface and are expected to provide optionality for mining
- Significant levels of high value co-products:
- 51.7 Mt at 0.11 % rubidium (“Rb”), 3.93% potassium (“K”) and 66.1 g/t caesium (“Cs”) resulting in contained metals of 56,870 t Rb, 2.0 Mt K and 3,417 t Cs as potential by-products
- 51.7 Mt at 0.11 % rubidium (“Rb”), 3.93% potassium (“K”) and 66.1 g/t caesium (“Cs”) resulting in contained metals of 56,870 t Rb, 2.0 Mt K and 3,417 t Cs as potential by-products
- The Resource extends from surface, meaning a very low strip ratio, down to a maximum depth of 140 metres (“m”)
- Estimated using drilling data from Cornish Lithium’s Trelavour drilling programme, which was completed in June 2021 and comprised a total of 30 drill holes totalling 4,358m
Jeremy Wrathall, Founder and CEO of Cornish Lithium, said: “We are delighted to announce this significant project milestone of Trelavour’s Maiden Resource. This is the culmination of a significant amount of work from the project team and will be a key element of the Trelavour Scoping Study, which we expect to publish during Q2 2022.
“We are excited about the potential of the Trelavour Project, which we are looking to develop utilising Lepidico’s low energy and low carbon footprint processing technology. This project is also expected to make use of the existing infrastructure in close proximity to it, which will both reduce the cost of development together with further reducing the project’s carbon footprint and minimising other environmental impacts.”
Mineral Resource for the Trelavour Project
The Mineral Resource quoted above occurs entirely within the mineral rights boundary and within an optimised
pit shell though the pit shell itself was not constrained by mineral rights boundary limitations.
The Maiden Mineral Resource has been prepared by Kerry Griffin of Mining Plus UK Limited, who is a Competent Person as defined by the JORC Code, 2012 Edition.
The cut-off grade used on the deposit is 0.05% Li (0.11% Li2O); this is based on the inputs used for the open-pit optimisation and the Inferred Mineral Resource is constrained by a pit shell based on Reasonable Prospects of Eventual Economic Extraction (“RPEEE”). The Trelavour Project is located on land owned by the Tregothnan Estate (“Tregothnan”), along with the associated mineral rights. Tregothnan has a 10% interest in the Company through their A share.
For further information about Cornish Lithium, please contact:
Neil Elliot, Manager – Corporate Development.
IR@cornishlithium.com
Appendix – Glossary of Key Terms
Cs | Caesium |
Cut-off grade | The lowest grade, or quality, of mineralised material that qualifies as economically mineable and available in a given deposit. May be defined on the basis of economic evaluation, or on physical or chemical attributes that define an acceptable product specification. |
Inferred Mineral Resource | An Inferred Mineral Resource or Inferred Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. |
JORC Code | Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) 2012 Edition |
K | Potassium |
kt | Thousand Metric tonnes |
LCE | Lithium Carbonate Equivalent |
Li | Lithium |
Li2O | Lithium Oxide |
m | Metres |
Mt | Million Metric tonnes |
Rb | Rubidium |
RPEEE | Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction |
t | Metric tonnes |