Lithium South Development Corporation (TSX-V: LIS) (OTCQB: LISMF) (Frankfurt: OGPQ) continues to make progress with a well-drilling campaign and other initiatives at its flagship Argentina lithium brine project.
The mining company said Thursday that the first production well at one of the site’s key claim blocks and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) announced last fall are nearly complete.
Lithium South has drilled the Alba Sabrina claim block’s first production well to a depth of 340 metres and only has another 60 metres left. Meanwhile, full results from the PEA are expected to come shortly from the contracted consultants JDS Energy and Mining and Knight Piesold Consulting.
Once the well’s target depth has been achieved, it will be cased, developed and a pumping test will be conducted. The initial design capacity of the economic assessment will be 15,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent per year. A technical review is currently in progress to determine optimal locations for additional pumping wells at the claim block.
“We are excited to be nearing the completion of our first deep pumping well at the Alba Sabrina claim block,” Lithium South President and CEO Adrian F. C. Hobkirk stated. He says the company is looking forward to pumping test results.
Read more: Lithium South and POSCO Holdings ink mutual development agreement
Read more: Lithium South Development technical report shows 40% increase in lithium recovery
Lithium South partners with South Korea’s POSCO
The lithium miner announced last week that it had entered into a partnership with the major South Korean company Posco Holdings Inc. (KRX: 005490). They will jointly develop two of the other claim blocks at Hombre Muerto North and split the lithium produced.
A November technical report indicated that there would be a 40 per cent increase in the rate of lithium recovery at the project going forward. Lithium South increased the scale of its lithium brine resource at the site by 175 per cent earlier in 2023.
POSCO currently operates a US$4 billion lithium project adjacent to Lithium South’s flagship operation. Hombre Muerto North is close to the major Sal de Vida lithium project run by the newly established industry giant Arcadium Lithium plc (NYSE: ALTM) (ASX: LTM) as well.
As of September last year, Lithium South had a C$43.2 million market capitalization and no debt. The Hombre Muerto North project is 100 per cent owned by the company.
Lithium South’s stock has performed well so far this year, shooting up by 40 per cent since Jan. 1 to trade at C$0.42.
Argentina’s lithium sector has attracted investors throughout the globe in recent days. The country currently supplies about 6 per cent of the world’s lithium and that number is expected to increase in the coming years.
Lithium South Development Corporation is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
rowan@mugglehead.com
