Nov 22 NR Option Agreement w/Jiangxi Ganfeng Accep Nov 14, 2012
International Lithium Corp. Blackstairs Project Option Agreement Approved
Vancouver B.C. November 14, 2012: International Lithium Corp. ("ILC" or the "Company") (ILC: TSX-V) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated October 2, 2012, the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing the formal option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with GFL International Co. Ltd ("GFL"), an investment company wholly owned by Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. ("Ganfeng Lithium"), to earn up to a 100% interest in ILC's Blackstairs project (the "Blackstairs Project") in Ireland.
About Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd.
Ganfeng Lithium based in Xinyu, Jiangxi Province, China, is a professional producer of lithium products which has developed a comprehensive product chain, including lithium metal and alloys, inorganic and organic lithium chemicals, supplies a wide range of lithium products for primary and secondary lithium battery market, pharmaceutical and new material industries. Ganfeng Lithium's principal market is in China with international exports to Europe, Japan, the USA and India. Ganfeng Lithium was founded in the 2000 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in August 2010, notably as the first publicly listed lithium company in China and has experienced rapid continuous growth over the last 11 years.
About the Blackstairs Project
The Blackstairs Project, comprised of eight mineral exploration licences totalling 292 square kilometres, is located 80 kilometres south of Dublin straddling the Counties of Carlow and Wicklow in Leinster, south-east Ireland. The Blackstairs Project encompasses an extensive NE-SW oriented 50 kilometre long rare metals pegmatite belt situated within the East Carlow Deformation Zone along the eastern side of the Leinster Granite. Approximately 19 significant lithium pegmatite occurrences have been discovered within the Blackstairs Project to date primarily as boulder trails with five buried pegmatites known through past trenching and drilling.
Due to the prevalent overburden cover and scarcity of outcrop, prospecting for lithium pegmatite boulders was the most successful exploration method utilised to identify priority target areas. The Aclare House occurrence, situated in the center of the Blackstairs Project was initially discovered through this exploration approach.
A pre-National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Minera Projectsl ("NI 43-101") historical resource of 570,000 tonnes grading 1.5% Li2O was reported at Aclare House. (A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources and the historical estimate should not be relied upon.)
Other drilling highlights include 1.85% Li2O over 5.3 metres at Stranakelly and 1.66% Li2O over 9.4 metres at Moylisha.
The observed lithium bearing pegmatites and extensive boulder occurrences within the Blackstairs Project represent a highly prospective and underexplored region. In addition, the recent discovery of a high concentration of pegmatite boulders reporting grades exceeding 4% Li2O at Moylisha only serve to highlight the exploration potential of the Blackstairs Project.
John Harrop, P.Geo, is the Company's Qualified Person on the Blackstairs Project as required under NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information contained in this press release.
About International Lithium Corp.
International Lithium Corp. is an exploration company with a focused portfolio of projects. A strong management team with personal ownership in the company compliments robust financial support from key stakeholders. A leading China based lithium product manufacturer, Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., is a strategic partner and keystone investor in ILC. The Company currently has several active rare metals projects, including lithium-potash brines in Argentina, and hard-rock pegmatites in Canada and Ireland.
The Company's primary focus is the Mariana lithium-potash brine project. Mariana is located in the renowned South American 'Lithium Belt' centred on the junction of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile that is host to the vast majority of global lithium resources, reserves and production. Mariana consists of a salar or 'salt lake' covering 160 square kilometres. The project strategically encompasses the entire mineral rich basin. The Mariana lithium-potash brine project ranks as one of the more prospective salars in the region.
Complementing the Company's lithium brine projects are rare metals pegmatite properties in Canada and Ireland. Despite the excellent accessibility of these hard-rock rare metals projects, there is limited past exploration and geochemical sampling for rare metals. There is a clear potential for exploration success and added value here as the Company strives to source rare metals to help meet the increasing demand through the growth in global technologies that utilize the rare metals suite of elements.
ILC's mandate is to increase shareholder value through aggressive advancement of its core projects and to source joint venture partners to expand the scope and diversify risk of its exploration effort.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Kirill Klip
President, International Lithium Corp.