Advance Lithium enters JV talks with Mexican Li player
2023-03-01 11:57 ET - News Release
Shares issued 83,516,472
AALI Close 2023-03-01 C$ 0.055
Mr. Allan Laboucan reports
ADVANCE LITHIUM ENTERS DISCUSSIONS WITH MEXICO'S NATIONAL LITHIUM COMPANY LITIOMX TO FORM A JOINT VENTURE
Advance Lithium Corp. has entered into discussions with Mexico's national lithium company, LitioMx, to form a joint venture. The goals of Advance Lithium and LitioMx are aligned, in that both want Mexico to become a lithium mining country as quickly as possible.
Advance Lithium has a group of lithium and potassium salars/salt lakes in central Mexico. The lithium and potassium mineralization are in clay deposits that start right at the surface. The lithium and potassium are not bound up in other minerals.
Advance Lithium has the rights to use a patent-pending lithium and potassium extraction method for its salars. The first step is to add water to the clay and then agitate it to release the lithium and potassium from the clay. Then using electrical separation, a concentrate would be produced of lithium, potassium and water, followed by adding an organic compound to the concentrate to separate the lithium and potassium from the water.
A key benefit of this extraction method is low energy would be needed, which could be provided using solar power. The lithium extraction methods for other lithium clay deposits need expensive roasters that have high energy costs as the lithium is bound up in other minerals. The water from the method could be recycled and used many times, which is a key difference between other lithium extraction methods from clay deposits which require significant amounts of water that cannot be recycled. No need for acid digestion to liberate the lithium and potassium from other minerals. It truly is a green mining solution to produce lithium crucial for green energy.
A demonstration plant is currently being built in Zacatecas, Mexico, by a team of metallurgists with extensive experience working for Mexican major mining companies building and operating production facilities. The goal is to show potential partners, shareholders and other interested parties the unique method to extract lithium and potassium from Advance Lithium's salars.
Allan Barry Laboucan, president and chief executive officer of Advance Lithium, commented: "I'm excited about entering discussions with LitioMx to form a joint venture. Two large vehicle manufacturing companies have recently announced plans to build battery manufacturing facilities in Mexico, one of which will be located in the state of San Luis Potosi in close proximity to our salars. It has always been a goal of Advance Lithium that if we become a lithium and potassium producer and that the lithium and potassium stays in Mexico to help with domestic battery manufacturing and to benefit Mexican farmers. Of course, I have to add that we have not as of yet come to terms on a joint venture, and until that is done we haven't made an agreement. Based on our discussions with LitioMx, I believe there is a path to making a joint venture happen in the near term. Battery manufacturing is ramping up in Mexico, a domestic source of lithium to supply the coming demand will be crucial, we believe we have the potential to be part of these efforts and working with LitioMx would be the quickest way to make that a reality."