Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp (TSX-V:LIT, OTCQX:LILIF) released new drill results this week from the 12th exploration hole at the Rincon West project in Salta Province, Argentina.
Brine samples collected from the hole showed lithium concentrations ranging from 322 to 371 mg/l over a 165-meter interval.
The Rincon West project, spanning nearly 5,200 hectares in the Salar basin, comprises three property blocks adjacent to Rio Tinto's Rincon Project.
In this interview, vice president exploration Miles Rideout told Proactive that this is the third hole in a planned six-hole program at the Rinconcita II property, with ongoing efforts to access the next drill platform for further exploration towards the northeast corner of the property block.
Proactive: Could you please provide a quick recap of Rincon West and its current status?
Miles Rideout: Rincon is our lead project of a four-project portfolio. We've been drilling there for almost two years, with 12 holes now completed. We're just starting our 13th. We are the third player on that basin: beside us, we have Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF), the world's second-largest mining company, who announced that they're going into production on Rincon, and there's also an Australian junior already in production on the southeast corner of Rincon.
Our properties are on the west side, which is where we've been drilling, and we have a property block on the north side and on the east side of the basins. The 12 holes we've drilled so far are all in that western block. We have two more exploration holes to complete there, plus at least one rotary well. Pump tests likely will expand on that into several rotary wells.
With that work completed, we'll likely be in a position to do our resource calculation in Q3 of this year. Then our exploration teams will be working on the eastern block and the northern block and where we’ll be drilling out resources.
Let's talk about that 12th exploration hole, where the company reporting positive lithium values. What did you see there?
As we progress from the western basin towards the east, we transition from a sandy plain, part of the Salar aquifer, to salt flats. We encounter formations from the surface and drill through sandy, salty formations to approximately 200 meters depth. Subsequently, we reach a fractured basement unit. Between the surface and about 215 meters depth, we sampled concentrated lithium brines with median values around 300 milligrams per liter, ranging from 332 to 370 milligrams per liter. These values closely resemble those found in Rio Tinto's resource and are consistent with what we've encountered in our previous drilling across the prior 11 exploration wells.
So, what you're observing is precisely in line with your expectations and consistent with the results from previous holes. It's progressing as anticipated, isn't it?
It is. Our hypothesis was that we have the same brines under the western basin which Rio Tinto had in their part of the Salar. This is our methodical process of drilling out the resource and now demonstrating that it’s continuous with the Salar basin.
Earlier, you mentioned that there are still a few more of these exploration wells you're planning to drill. Could you elaborate on that?
There should be two more diamond drill holes to complete. We're constructing the access route to the 13th and that rig should be ready to go by the end of this month in the northeast corner of the property. Subsequently, we'll do a step out to the south, and we'll be drilling down the eastern margin of our Rinconcita II property, again on the salt flat.
Quotes have been edited for style and clarity