Cypress Development tables first batch of lithium results from Nevada

By Peter Kennedy

Cypress Development Corp. [CYP-TSXV, CYDVF-OTCBB, C1Z1-FSE] on December 5 released the first three holes from a 2017 drill program at the Dean and Glory Lithium properties in Clayton Valley, Nevada. Investors reacted to the news by sending Cypress shares down 6.3% or $0.02 to 29.5 cents in active trading, Wednesday.

Cypress holds a 100% interest in the 1,520-acre Glory Project. The Glory claims are located to the immediate south of the Dean Claims and less than 1,000 metres southeast of producing lithium brine wells owned by the Albemarle [ALB-NYSE] Silver Peak Mine, the only operating brine-based lithium mine in North America.

Cypress also holds a 100% interest in the 2,700-acre Dean Project. Both of those properties are close to a 26,000-acre lithium brine project held by Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. [PE-TSXV, HMGLF-OTC, AHG1-FSE] which hosts an inferred resource of 247,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (218,000 tonnes Lithium Carbonate Equivalent).

Surface and drill exploration at the Cypress Project has uncovered a 7-km long zone of up to 3,800 parts per million (ppm) lithium in a highly-soluble non-hectorite uplifted lakebed claystone.

The company has said it believes this new lithium source has the potential scale to significantly impact future production of lithium in the Clayton Valley. It has also said the developing zone at the Dean and Glory Project could represent a long-term, reliable supply of lithium given the location, known size, chemistry and geometry of the discovery.

Highlights from drill results announced on Wednesday include 102.7 metres of 1,029 ppm lithium on the Dean property. The company said it has completed five core holes in its fall program at Dean. Results from the rest of the holes are expected to be released later this month.

The company said all of the holes released so far clearly show a large, tabular, lithum-bearing formation underlying the Dean property. Drilling has now outlined a large area of mineralization of approximately 4 km in length and 2 km in width at Dean, the company said.

Laboratory work continues to test the solubility of the lithium-enriched claystone under varying conditions and reagents.

The fall 2017 program was planned for 12 to 14 holes, up to 1,500 metres of core. All holes are vertical and drilling is to be divided between the Dean and Glory properties. Together, the two properties cover a total area of 4,220 acres. Drilling is now underway at Glory.

There is no ready market for lithium. Lithium prices are determined by the purity and chemistry of the material as well as the length of the contract between buyer and seller. Brines (in salt ponds) and spodumene (hard rock) represent the two main sources of commercial lithium production.

Investor interest in the sector is related to the increasing application of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the automotive sector, as well as the impact on demand of battery manufacturing plants that are being built by Tesla Inc. [TSLA-NASDAQ], Forum and others.