LI - American lithium extraction results
American Lithium testing shows 66% increase in Li grade
2021-03-23 07:34 ET - News Release
Mr. Michael Kobler reports
AMERICAN LITHIUM REPORTS BREAKTHROUGH UPGRADING TLC LITHIUM CLAYSTONE ACHIEVING 66% LITHIUM GRADE INCREASE
American Lithium Corp. has provided the results of the latest independent laboratory testing to beneficiate samples from its Tonopah lithium claims (TLC) project which achieved a 49-per-cent mass reduction while increasing lithium grade by 66 per cent. Subsequent leach testing extracted 96 per cent of the lithium from upgraded samples.
As previously announced on May 7, 2020, American Lithium has successfully shown the ability, under laboratory conditions, to extract lithium utilizing sulphuric acid leaching on samples of the company's TLC claystones at extraction rates of 90 per cent in as little as 10 minutes.
The company has continued to build on these results by utilizing researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and then corroborating and expanding the LBNL findings utilizing McClelland Laboratories in Sparks, Nev. Utilizing a centrifuge, technicians were able to concentrate lithium to grades as high as 2,207 parts per million and then extract up to 96 per cent of the lithium in the upgraded fraction while utilizing 45 per cent less sulphuric acid per unit of lithium extracted compared with the previous testing. The beneficiated fraction contained 78.5 per cent of the lithium in 51 per cent of the mass, providing overall lithium extractions of 75 per cent and a greatly improved economic outlook due to the reduced acid consumption and higher lithium grade in the leachate solution.
Further verification of this process was completed by SGS Laboratories of Lakefield, Ont., wherein SGS confirmed similar upgrading, with statistically similar results, using hydro cyclone technology. In comparison with the laboratory-scale centrifuge testing at McClelland labs, the use of hydro cyclone separators at SGS illustrates the potential to implement this process on an industrial scale.
Chief executive officer Mike Kobler states: "Upgrading the lithium in our claystones using relatively simple physical processing has been a goal of ours from the beginning. Concentrating our claystones to higher grade lithium content will significantly reduce costs, including energy and chemical use, while minimizing environmental impacts. This truly is a game-changer for us."
While further process work and optimization are required and continuing, this breakthrough provides direction to the overall process development and is a further step toward the successful production of battery-grade lithium chemicals from the TLC claystones.
Market awareness program
Pursuant to American Lithium's continuing strategy to continue to raise its profile in the United States with all interested stakeholders in the TLC project and the company's other initiatives, and to generate a greater following among United States investors, the company confirms that it has entered into a new service agreement with Promethean Marketing, of Annapolis, Md., in the United States. Promethean continues to provide continuing marketing services including content creation and distribution and market awareness campaigns.
The contract is continuing and can be terminated by either party serving appropriate notice. The launch of market awareness campaigns is dependent upon market conditions, developments in the company and available financial resources with timing and budgets to be agreed in advance. At this time, no market awareness campaigns have yet been planned or budgeted pursuant to this agreement.
About American Lithium Corp.
American Lithium is actively engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium deposits within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the Americas. The company is currently exploring and developing the TLC lithium project located in the highly prospective Esmeralda lithium district in Nevada. TLC is close to infrastructure, 3.5 hours south of the Tesla gigafactory, and in the same basinal environment as Albemarle's Silver Peak lithium mine and several advancing deposits and resources, including Ioneer Ltd.'s (formerly Global Geoscience) Rhyolite Ridge and Cypress Development Corp.'s Clayton Valley project.
The metallurgical testing information reported herein was reviewed by Jared Olson, metallurgist and vice-president of operations, McClelland Labs, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.