LithiumBank Resources Corp (TSX-V:LBNK) has announced assay results from four wells at its Boardwalk Brine Project in Alberta, reporting average lithium grades above the current inferred resource estimate in all four.
LithiumBank collected four 20 cubic meter samples of Leduc Formation brine from four wells in the south Sturgeon Lake oilfield between July 26 and August 13, 2021. This was done for due diligence purposes, to increase sample density, and for mineral processing test work with select direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology providers, the company said.
“Results from the assay analysis are very encouraging as the average grades, of all the analysis from each of the four wells, are above the average grade of the NI 43-101 Resource Estimate of 67.1 milligrams per liter (mg/L) lithium,” LithiumBank COO Kevin Piepgrass said in a statement.
“The sampled wells are spread over 6.3 km which continue to demonstrate excellent grade continuity of the Li-brine over the investigated reservoir portions of the 50 km-long Sturgeon Lake reef complex,” he added.
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Specifically, the four wells returned average lithium grades of 73.8 mg/L, 70.8 mg/L, 69.9 mg/L and 72.6 mg/L.
“We are pleased to have received positive assay results from all four wells sampled at Boardwalk, where the Leduc formation continues to demonstrate an exceptional setting for world-class lithium brine deposits,” CEO Rob Shewchuk said. “We look forward to completing additional work ahead of the release of our PEA that will result in an upgraded NI 43-101 Resource Estimate that could drive even stronger PEA outcomes for LithiumBank."
The Sturgeon Lake oilfield at Boardwalk has been producing petroleum and natural gas since the early 1950s from the Leduc formation, the company said. This legacy has resulted in an established well-trained labor force, networks of all-weather gravel roads, permitted drill sites that can be accessed from Provincial highways, and electrical transmission lines that run through and adjacent to the project.
The Sturgeon Lake Leduc Formation lithium-brine inferred resource is globally estimated at more than 1.1 million tonnes of elemental lithium at an average lithium concentration of 67.1 mg/L in 16.7 cubic kilometers of formation brine volume. The total lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) for the inferred mineral resource is over 5.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 67.1 mg/L lithium.
Lithiumbank Resources is an exploration and development company focused on direct brine lithium resources in western Canada.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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