Mr. Richard Kern of Iconic Minerals reports
ICONIC MINERALS PRODUCES BATTERY GRADE LITHIUM CARBONATE FROM BONNIE CLAIRE LITHIUM DEPOSIT, NEVADA
Iconic Minerals Ltd. and its 50-per-cent partner in the Bonnie Claire lithium project, Nevada Lithium Resources Inc., have produced marketable battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) from Bonnie Claire deposit material. The Bonnie Claire project is located in Nye county, Nevada, and hosts one of the largest lithium resources in North America.
Richard Kern, chief executive officer of Iconic Minerals, commented: "The production of marketable battery-grade lithium carbonate is one more important milestone on the road to developing this major lithium resource. We expect to achieve many more milestones this year as we work toward completion of a preliminary feasibility study."
The sample (several grams) was produced using composited core material (approximately 30 kilograms) from drill hole BC2001C, collected from the interval of approximately 90 to 380 feet depth (core length). The material, with a head assay of approximately 1,000 parts per million lithium, was fed through a calcination and water-leach step, which prevents iron and other deleterious elements from entering the solution, allowing for a simple and straightforward downstream purification circuit to be applicable. The solution was processed through an off-the-shelf commercial purification circuit through to the precipitation of a crude lithium carbonate product, which was then dissolved and recrystallized to produce a marketable 99.9-per-cent-pure Li2CO3 product.
The metallurgical program at Bonnie Claire is continuing, with additional material to be received shortly from the recent coring program. In follow-up test work, the company intends to further evaluate processing to a lithium hydroxide product as well as demonstrate the recovery of potential byproducts (for example, boron and potassium). The metallurgical program has been designed to support a prefeasibility study on the project.
Qualified person disclosure
Dr. Todd Harvey, process engineering director and president of Global Resource Engineering Ltd., is the qualified person for the metallurgical portion of this project. Dr. Harvey has over 30 years of experience in the mining sector and is a registered member of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME).
Bonnie Claire property
The Bonnie Claire property is located within Sarcobatus Valley, which is approximately 30 kilometres (19 miles) long and 20 kilometres (12 miles) wide. Quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within and adjacent to the valley. Drill results from the salt flat have included lithium values as high as 5,570 parts per million lithium and a 1,560-foot (roughly 475-metre) vertical intercept that averaged 1,153 parts per million lithium. The current National Instrument 43-101 resource from the PEA (preliminary economic assessment) report for borehole minable portion of the resource is 3,407 million tonnes grading 1,013 parts per million lithium, or 18,372 million kilograms of lithium carbonate equivalent (though this is a resource, not a reserve, and has not yet proven economic viability). The gravity low within the valley is 20 kilometres (12 miles) long, and the current estimates of depth to basement rocks range from 600 to 1,200 metres (2,000 to 4,000 feet). The current claim block covers an area of 74 square kilometres (28.6 square miles) with potential for brine systems and further sediment resources.