Exploration Summary
Lithium Americas has done an extensive amount of detailed exploration work in defining a NI 43-101 resource estimate. An exploration summary is provided below.
Drilling Summary:
- Diamond Drill Boreholes (DDH) to reconstruct the geology of the basin
- 29 DDHs for total drilling of 5,713m
- DDH depths range from 79m to 449.5m
- Reverse Circulation Boreholes (RC) to evaluate brine composition
- 24 RCs plus 2 twin holes for total drilling of 4,176m
- RC depths range from 28m to 371m
Sampling Summary:
- 832 rock samples tested for porosity estimations (brine release capacity)
- 2,390 brine samples
Geophysics Summary:
- 62.5km of detailed seismic tomography to reconstruct the basin
- 25km of gravity geophysics to measure the bottom of the basin
- 12.5km of Time Domain Electromagnetic
NI 43-101 Resource Estimate
Lithium Americas’ Cauchari-Olaroz project is the 3rd largest known lithium brine resource in the world. A summary of the resource estimate is highlighted in the table below. The reserve and resource estimate is expressed relative to a lithium grade cut-off of ≥ 354 milligrams per litre.
Lithium Reserve and Resource Summary
|
Description |
mg/L |
Lithium (tonnes) |
Lithium Carbonate (tonnes) |
Brine (m³) |
|
Proven Reserves |
679 |
37,000 |
197,000 |
5.50 x 107 |
|
Probable Reserves |
665 |
477,000 |
2,517,000 |
7.16 x 108 |
|
Updated Measured Resource |
630 |
576,000 |
3,039,000 |
9.14 x 108 |
|
Updated Indicated Resource |
570 |
1,650,000 |
8,713,000 |
2.89 x 109 |
Potassium Reserve and Resource Summary
|
Description |
mg/L |
Potassium (tonnes) |
Potash (tonnes) |
Brine (m³) |
|
Proven Reserves |
5,483 |
302,000 |
576,000 |
5.50 x 107 |
|
Probable Reserves |
5,395 |
3,863,000 |
7,378,000 |
7.16 x 108 |
|
Updated Measured Resource |
5,156 |
4,714,000 |
9,003,000 |
9.14 x 108 |
|
Updated Indicated Resource |
4,753 |
13,755,000 |
26,271,000 |
2.89 x 109 |