American Salars Lithium Inc. (CSE: USLI) (OTC: ASALF) (FWB: Z3P) (WKN: A3E2NY) is registering an Argentina-based mining subsidiary under the name “American Salars Pocitos SA.”
The company announced this move on Tuesday as a next step after its recent acquisition and discovery of inferred mineral resources at its Pocitos lithium project.
Geophysics consultancy, WSP Australia completed an update of the NI 43-101 report originally completed in June 2023.
The report estimates porosity rates of 6 per cent for clay and 14 per cent for sand lithologies. This resulted in a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 760,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) for the combined Pocitos 1 and neighbouring Pocitos 2 block. American Salars does not own the Pocitos 2 ground and all drilling to date has occurred on their Pocitos 1 block.
The Pocitos 1 project is located approximately 10 kilometers from Pocitos township.
Since 2017, the company has invested over USD$2 million into exploration. Some of these include surface sampling, trenching, TEM and MT geophysics. Additionally, drilling three wells yielded excellent brine flow results.
During December 2022 drilling campaigns, drill hole PCT22-03 recorded lithium values of 169 parts per million (ppm) in packer tests. The company discovered brine flow that persisted for over five hours after reaching depths of up to 409 meters. Lithium extraction team, Ekosolve Ltd achieved 99.8 per cent purity in lithium carbonate production. It recovered over 94 per cent of lithium content in the brine, equivalent to 158.86 ppm.
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Candela II deposit is 45 KM from town of Tolar Grande
In contrast, the Candela II Lithium deposit is situated on the southern and lowest end of the Incahuasi Salar. This is located in the Province of Salta, Argentina. It is approximately 45 kilometers from the town of Tolar Grande and 267 kilometers from Salta. The area is in close proximity to advanced lithium salars such as Lithium Chile‘s (TSXV: LITH) (OTC: LTMCF) Arizaro and Hanaq Group’s Pocitos territories. Volcanoes Cerro Aracar, Medina, and Pular contribute lithium to the Incahuasi Salar through aquifers.
WSP Australia Pty. Ltd. completed an MRE for the Candela II Lithium Brine Project. According to this report, the project contains an estimated 86,000 tonnes of lithium metal, which equates to 457,500 tonnes of in-situ lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). The estimate includes a lithium yield of 48,000 tonnes of LCE from 9,000 tonnes of lithium metal. These calculations assume no losses from lithium metal and will update the average porosity in the next drilling phase.
When the option on the Candela II project on Salar de Incahuasi is complete, the company intends to register another Argentina subsidiary to operate it.
Northern Argentina is beginning to show serious value in terms of becoming a hub for lithium exploration and production. The region has extensive lithium-rich salars. This includes the Incahuasi Salar where deposits like Candela II are located in Salta province.
Companies like Lithium South Development Corporation (TSXV: LIS) (OTCQB: LISMF) (Frankfurt: OGPQ) are actively advancing projects such as the Hombre del Muerto property in neighbouring Catamarca province. Lithium South focuses on leveraging innovative extraction technologies to enhance lithium recovery from brines, contributing to the region’s growing role in global lithium supply.
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Lithium South Development Corporation is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
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