LithiumBank Resources Corp. (TSX-V: LBNK) (OTCQX: LBNKF) (“LithiumBank” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the filing of the updated Preliminary Economic Assessment technical report, entitled “Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for LithiumBank Resources Boardwalk Lithium-Brine Project in West- Central Alberta, Canada” effective February 22, 2024 (“PEA”), originally announced by the Company on January 16th, 2024. The updated PEA can be found on SEDAR+. The PEA incorporated the exclusively licensed Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) technology from G2L Greenview Resources Inc. (“G2L“).
Boardwalk Updated PEA Improvements Highlights include:1
- Increased lithium recovery of 98% using the G2L’s cDLE® technology;
- Increased production to 34,005 tonnes per year of battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (“LHM“)2 over a 20-year period;
- A significant reduction of 34% in operational expenditures to USD $4,588 per tonne LHM;
- USD $3.7 Billion Net Present Value8 (“NPV8“) and 25.0% IRR on a pre-tax basis;
- USD $2.3 Billion NPV8 and 20.6% IRR on an after-tax basis;
- Reduction in the payback period from 4.1 years to 3.5 years, on a pre-tax basis;
- Production of high-grade lithium sulphate (Li2SO4) eluate at a concentration of 3,238 mg/L Li (3.24 g/L Li);
- Lower cost and commercially available reagents used in the cDLE® process;
- Majority of acid is recovered in the downstream processing and reused in the elution stage;
- Reduction in freshwater usage using the G2L cDLE®;
- Achievement of commercial production within 3 years is possible under provincial permitting directives;
- Located in the resource friendly jurisdiction of west-central Alberta, which has a long history of resource extraction, well established infrastructure, and an actively supportive government;
- Power expected to be generated on site using high-efficiency gas turbines with steam cogeneration that is expected to lower the project’s overall carbon footprint. The proposed gas turbine units may be run on 80% hydrogen when a reliable supply is available;
- Project economics again used USD $26,000/t LHM and provides strong leverage to higher lithium prices; and
- No changes were made to the front end of the engineering which includes everything up to the DLE.
The PEA summarized in this news release is preliminary in nature as it includes a portion of Inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The Company sees multiple avenues to create value in the coming months through continued derisking efforts such as updating the Inferred mineral resource estimate to Measured and Indicated at Boardwalk and commissioning of the 10,000 L/day lithium brine pilot plant currently being assembled in the Company’s Calgary, Alberta facility.
In addition to the Boardwalk project, LithiumBank also holds the Park Place lithium brine project which consists of 1.4M acres overlying the Leduc and Swan Hills Formations. Detailed subsurface modelling with SLB is nearing completing and is expected to result in an initial NI 43-101 Resource Estimate.
“Updating the Boardwalk PEA to incorporate our licensed technology from G2L to further enhance the asset is an important part of our development strategy,” commented LithiumBank CEO Rob Shewchuk. “Our goal is to provide de-risked, construction-ready direct lithium brine projects to major developers. Boardwalk is the most advanced to date, but we will continue to apply our model to the rest of our portfolio to create attractive, buildable assets.”
The PEA was prepared by the following Qualified Persons: Roy Eccles, P. Geol. of APEX Geoscience Ltd., Kim Mohler, P. Eng. of GLJ Ltd., Gordon MacMillan, P. Geol. of Fluid Domains, Jim Touw, P. Geol. of HCL Ltd., Frederick Scott, P. Eng. of Scott Energy, Egon Linton, P. Eng. of Hatch Ltd., Evan Jones, P. Eng. of Hatch Ltd., Stefan Hlouschko, P. Eng. of Hatch Ltd., and Lisa Park, AusIMM.
The information that forms the basis for the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release was prepared and approved by Kevin Piepgrass, P.Geo, who is a Qualified Person (QP) for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. Mr Kevin Piepgrass consents to the inclusion of the data in the form and context in which it appears.
1 Readers are cautioned that reliance on information in this announcement without reference to the NI 43-101 updated PEA technical report may not be appropriate. The NI 43-101 updated PEA technical report is meant to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context.
2 34,005 metric tonnes LMH is equivalent to 29,951 metric tonnes LCE.
About LithiumBank Resources Corp.
LithiumBank Resources Corp. (TSXV: LBNK) (OTCQX: LBNKF), is a publicly traded lithium company that is focused on developing its two flagship projects, Boardwalk and Park Place, in Western Canada. The Company holds 2,480,196 acres of brown-field lithium brine licenses, across three (3) districts in Alberta and Saskatchewan.