CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, OTCQX:CTLHF) has updated the resource at its Laguna Verde lithium project, one of six salars prioritised for development by Chile's government.
Calculated by Montgomery & Associates, an expert in lithium brine resource estimation and based on a smaller area than the previous estimate, the updated total is now 1.63 million tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE), at a grade of 175 milligrams per litre (mg/l) lithium.
Of that, 0.81 million tonnes is in the Measured + Indicated category at a grade of 178 mg/l lithium
CTL added that this resource was based on the proposed polygon area included in the company’s recently submitted application for a Special Operating Contract for Lithium (CEOL)
Steve Kesler, executive chairman, said that the update confirms a robust and significant resource.
“Now with greater confidence in the resource, this comprehensive evaluation will form the basis for the Pre-Feasibility Study, scheduled for the end of this quarter.
“This positions Laguna Verde as a highly promising direct lithium extraction (DLE) based project.”
A previous 2023 estimate of 1.77 million tonnes LCE at an average grade of 200mg/l lithium was based on a previously proposed CEOL area that covered the entire estimated resource of the basin.
CTL added that lithium concentrations obtained in the 2024 drilling programme were below the average grade of other exploration wells impacting the average lithium grade of the resource
Montgomery has recommended three additional drill holes in the southwest, north and northeast to potentially increase the resource based on completed geophysics
This updated measured and indicated resource estimate will be used in the pre-feasibility study (PFS) which is intended to underpin a maiden reserve estimate for the Laguna Verde project, CTL added.