Latin Resources Ltd (ASX:LRS, OTC:LRSRF) has received a strong acknowledgement of its project, leadership and business strategy, with managing director Chris Gale awarded 'Asia Pacific Business Leader' at the Asia Pacific Business Awards 2023-2024.
The Asia Pacific Business Awards recognise companies, organisations, entrepreneurs, CEOs, presidents, senior executives and advisors in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region for their professionalism, performance and leadership in uncertain times.
Outstanding performance is not enough to gain recognition for these awards – rather recipients must also have had a strong impact on their industries and societies.
Building sustainably green economic force
“It is very pleasing to be recognised in the Asia Pacific Business Awards 2023-2024 and I see this award as recognition for the whole team at Latin who are constantly striving not just to build our business but to develop the region in which we operate,” Chris Gale said.
“I am proud to be developing a world-class sustainable lithium operation and we are determined to turn Lithium Valley Brazil in Minas Gerais into a sustainably green economic force, one that both nurtures and supports the local communities.”
With Chris Gale at the helm, Latin Resources now holds the largest single lithium deposit in Brazil in the form of the Salinas Project, having transformed the company from a copper explorer to a lithium spodumene miner.
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The company is also building its environmental chops to meet increasing demand for green critical minerals, planning a low-cost, sustainable lithium operation backed by hydro-electric grid power, sustainable water access and water recycling systems.
Latin is invested in the local community, running education programs at local schools, supporting youth training programs and maintaining an open-door policy with an information office in the town of Salinas to keep the community up to date.
Strong project economics
The Salinas Lithium Project itself is also a standout for Latin, having already defined a global mineral resource estimate of 70.3 million tonnes at 1.3% lithium oxide – importantly, 63.5 million tonnes of that resource already sit in the high-confidence measured JORC category.
Read: Latin Resources delivers even more high-grade results from Salinas Lithium Project
A preliminary economic assessment revealed robust indicators for Salinas, offering an after-tax net present value (NPV8) of $3.6 billion and a very strong combined after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 132%, based on a two-phase, 3.6-million-tonne per year mining and processing operation.
LRS also holds the Catamarca Lithium Project in Argentina, a complementary asset that will aid Latin Resources in its ambitions to become a key player in the lithium sector, feeding the global decarbonisation effort’s requirements for battery metals.