Lithium Ionic drills longest intercept to date at Bandeira, Brazil
Lithium Ionic Corp. [TSXV: LTH; OTCQX: LTHCF; FSE: H3N] reported new drill results from the ongoing drilling program at its Bandeira Lithium Project, located in Brazil’s most prolific lithium-producing district in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.
Among the results is the thickest lithium-bearing intercept drilled to date at the project and the second highest grade X width intersection, underscoring the potential for continued mineral resource growth at this flagship asset.
The Bandeira property covers 175 hectares, representing only ~1% of the company’s large ~17,000-hectare land package and currently accounts for ~70% of its global lithium mineral resource estimate of 60.1Mt.
In only approximately two years of drilling, the company has defined significant resources which continue to be expanded by the ongoing drilling results such as the ones reported here. Lithium Ionic remains focused on rapidly advancing Bandeira towards production, aiming to become Brazil’s next significant lithium producer.
Hole ITDD-24-276 represent the thickest mineralized zone encountered at Bandeira to date, returning 64.7 meters grading 1.39% Li₂O from 35 metres, including 22m grading 1.67% Li₂O and 20m grading 1.62% Li₂O
Hole ITDD-24-266 returned 13.0 meters grading 1.11% Li₂O from 46 meters, including 5m grading 1.51% Li₂O and 9.7 meters grading 1.28% Li₂O from 118 meters, including 6m grading 1.54% Li₂O.
Blake Hylands, P.Geo., CEO, commented, “We are very excited to see the scale of the lithium deposit at Bandeira continue to expand while maintaining quality and grade. These results bode well for optimization opportunities as we continue progressing basic and detailed engineering in preparation for project construction.”
In May 2024, the company completed a Feasibility Study for Bandeira which highlighted a robust 14-year mine life, producing an average of 178,000 tonnes of high-quality spodumene concentrate (5.5% Li₂O) annually with a post-tax NPV of US$1.3 billion and an IRR of 40%.
Before the end of the year, the company expects to obtain the Concomitant Environmental and Installation License (LAC, or Licença Ambiental Concomitante in Portuguese), which provides the environmental and social licenses, together with an authorization to begin construction. In preparation for these developments, the company is working on progressing the project to the execution phase including optimizing the project design to reduce capital and operating costs.
Bandeira is situated in northeastern Minas Gerais State, a Tier 1 mining region with excellent infrastructure, including low-cost, renewable hydroelectric power, access to water, excellent transport infrastructure and access to foreign markets via nearby ports. Known as Brazil’s “Lithium Valley,” this region hosts the largest lithium reserves in the country and has emerged as a globally significant producer of high purity spodumene concentrate. Bandeira is located just ~500m from CBL’s Cachoeira lithium mine and ~4km from Sigma Lithium’s Grota do Cirilo Mine.
Lithium Ionic is exploring and developing its lithium properties in Brazil. Its Itinga and Salinas group of properties cover ~17,000 hectares in the northeastern part of Minas Gerais state, a mining-friendly jurisdiction that is quickly emerging as a world-class hard-rock lithium district.
Its Feasibility-stage Bandeira Project is situated in the same region as CBL’s Cachoeira lithium mine, which has produced lithium for +30 years, as well as Sigma Lithium Corp.’s Grota do Cirilo project, which hosts the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the Americas.