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European Lithium Limited (ASX: EUR, FRA:PF8, OTC: EULIF) (European Lithium or the Company) is pleased to present the results of its Definitive Feasibility Study (Wolfsberg DFS or DFS) for its wholly owned Wolfsberg Lithium Project, located in Austria (Wolfsberg Lithium Project or Wolfsberg Project). The Wolfsberg DFS has been delivered by DRA Projects (Pty) Ltd (DRA), a diversified global engineering, project delivery and operations management group.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) demonstrates that the Wolfsberg Lithium project is set to deliver high returns, leveraging low operating costs, and benefiting from a lithium market which is anticipated to be in structural undersupply during most of the life of mine;
- Battery grade Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (LHM) production is ~ 8,800 tpa for 14.6 years;
- LHM OPEX (after byproducts) is US$ 17,016/t LHM on average compared to reported spot prices for LHM in February 2023 of US$ 79,500 DDP Antwerp;
- LHM prices2 modelled in the DFS are projected to be at a 39% discount to current spot prices in 2025 and then escalate by 2% per annum;
- Estimated CAPEX is US$ 866 million which supports a post-tax NPV of US$ 1.5 billion @ WACC1 6%;
- Acceleration of decarbonization and energy transition in Europe combined with the rapid adoption of electric vehicles provides further upside; and
- Construction of downstream project facilities expected Q4, 2023.
The financial results of the DFS are set out in the table below:
Executive Summary
The Wolfsberg Project is held through European Lithium AT GmbH, a 100% owned subsidiary of European Lithium. European Lithium is aiming to be Europe’s first and largest local supplier of critical lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) in the region.
Tony Sage, Chairman, commented on the DFS results: “The robust DFS provided by DRA provides confidence in the commercialisation of the Wolfsberg Project. This positive news has come during a buoyant market for lithium and an increased urgency for decisive action to accelerate the green energy transition, especially in Europe. Our next steps include finalisation of the listing of Critical Metals on NASDAQ and continuing our discussions with our financiers. Through the business combination with Sizzle, Critical Metals Corp. expect to access substantial opportunities available in the U.S. market.”
Building on completion of the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the Wolfsberg Project in April 2018, the Company conducted extensive infill geological drilling, mineral processing and metallurgical test work, built a pilot test facility which produced 1.7 t of bulk spodumene concentrate, updated its marketing studies and completed environmental mitigation studies. The results of this work has flowed into the Wolfsberg DFS which provides an accurate and detailed analysis of the compelling economics for the Wolfsberg Project.
The DFS has been prepared to international standards with Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates prepared in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code, 2012) guidelines, as published by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia.
The Wolfsberg DFS plans an average (steady state) mine production rate of 780 kt/a, peaking at 840 kt/a over the Life of Mine (LOM) which is based on an Ore Reserve of 11.5 Mt, mined over approximately 15 years. The Project will comprise two integrated operations, a mining and processing operation to produce a lithium concentrate (spodumene), and a hydrometallurgical plant to convert the spodumene into battery grade LHM. The hydrometallurgical plant is planned to produce approximately 8.8 kt/a LHM with a total production of approximately 129 kt of LHM over the LOM. The forecast pricing assumptions for LHM are based on a 39% discount to current spot prices in Europe (~ USD 48 600/t) in 2025 which then escalate with United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2026 onwards (refer to paragraph 9.6).
Field surveys for fauna and flora have been completed at the planned mine and concentrator site location. The DFS demonstrates that a mining fleet of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) can be economically viable for the Wolfsberg Project. The study confirms that that the underground portal, concentrator, and all the required surface infrastructure can be located within an area of less than 10 ha, which has significantly reduced the Wolfsberg Project’s environmental footprint.
European Lithium is committed to the sustainable development of its Wolfsberg Project, utilising the most advanced mining and processing technologies to become a reliable low carbon producer of LHM and be a key part of the emerging lithium supply chain in Europe.
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This article includes content from European Lithium Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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European Lithium
Overview
As the global push to halt climate change gains momentum, the European Commission is looking to regionalize the battery supply chain to capitalize on the rapid electric vehicle (EV) growth and limit its dependency on other countries through heavy investment and policy changes. Europe’s electric vehicle market value reached US$29.49 million in 2021 and is projected to increase up to US$143.08 million by 2027, indicating a compounded annual growth rate of 23.4 percent in that period.
Even though Europe is one of the largest global producers of motor vehicles, it currently does not have a local supply of lithium hydroxide which is heavily used in EV battery technology. According to experts, the market is set to remain in a structural shortage until 2025
One company that aims to become the first local lithium supplier into an integrated European battery supply chain is European Lithium (ASX:EUR,FRA:PF8), a mining exploration and development company focused on exploring, identifying and acquiring lithium in Europe. The company is led by a management team with decades of experience and success in the mining and finance markets.
“Our aim is to be the first supplier of lithium from Europe, for Europe,” European Lithium chairman Tony Sage said.
The company is focused on its wholly owned Wolfsberg Lithium project located in Carinthia, Austria. The pre-existing mine is located in a mining-friendly region with multiple mineral discoveries in the surrounding area. The property features a high-grade lithium resource at an average grade of one percent lithium hydroxide, with a total resource of 12.88 million tonnes based on resources measured, indicated and inferred in zone 1 only.
The Wolfsberg Lithium project resource has the potential to double based on positive drill results in another zone on the property.
Based on the definitive feasibility study (DFS) released in March 2023, Wolfsberg Lithium Project is well positioned to become a leading producer of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Europe. It is set to deliver high returns, leveraging low operating costs, and benefiting from a lithium market that is anticipated to be in structural undersupply during most of the life of mine. The battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) prices modeled in the DFS are projected to be at a 39-percent discount to current spot prices in 2025 and then escalate by 2 percent per annum. The estimated capex is US$866 million which supports a post-tax NPV of US$1.5 billion.
European Lithium has established several strategic relationships with an aim to deliver value to the Wolfsberg Lithium Project through development and during production. This includes a partnership with KMI for liaising with Austrian authorities.
The company commissioned Dorfner Anzaplan to construct the pilot plant, which was successfully completed on schedule. Anzaplan has also overseen the completion of metallurgical test work on bulk ore extractions. Testing will allow significantly higher recovery rates at the start of production as opposed to only assessing metallurgical data from the core as other mining companies often do, giving European Lithium the advantage of a streamline refinement process.
The company has support from the European Battery Alliance, GREENPEG and other government initiatives, believing it has the potential to become a major, first-to-market producer of lithium in Europe. The company also remains committed to clean production in an effort to support sustainability.
Based on the DFS, the company plans to begin the permitting process of its Wolfsberg Lithium project and prepare the mining plan for the mining authority to authorize the mine and concentrator construction. Afterward, the company will determine the approval requirements of the carbonate hydroxide conversion plant with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and then initiate the final financing plan.
European Lithium, through its wholly owned Austrian subsidiary ECM Lithium Aľ GmbH (ECM), signed a binding long-term lithium offtake agreement with top-tier European auto manufacturer BMW to secure the company’s first offtake of battery grade lithium hydroxide from its Wolfsberg Lithium Project in Austria.
The company is aiming to commence production of lithium hydroxide from the project in 2027 — subject to funding and approvals by the Austrian government.
In a bid to expand its project portfolio, European Lithium executed a binding Heads of Agreement with 2743718 Ontario Inc., a subsidiary of Richmond Minerals (TSXVRMD), to acquire 100 percent of the rights, title and interest in the Bretstein-Lachtal Project, Klementkogel Project and the Wildbachgraben Project, a group of exploration licenses covering 114.6 square kilometers, targeting lithium with known occurrences in the Styria mining district of Austria.Company Highlights
- European Lithium is a mining exploration and development company focused on exploring, identifying and acquiring lithium in Europe.
- The company aims to become the first local lithium supplier into an integrated European battery supply chain.
- The company’s focus is on its wholly owned advanced Wolfsberg Lithium Project (Wolfsberg) located in Carinthia, Austria.
- Wolfsberg is a high-grade lithium resource at an average grade of one percent lithium oxide, with a total resource of 12.88 million tonnes based on measured, indicated and inferred resources in zone one only.
- Wolfsberg’s definitive feasibility study results demonstrate potential to deliver high returns, leveraging low operating costs, and benefiting from a lithium market that is anticipated to be in structural undersupply during most of the life of mine.
- The Wolfsberg resource estimate has significant upside with the potential to double based on positive drill results.
- Through its wholly owned Austrian subsidiary ECM Lithium Aľ GmbH (ECM), European Lithium signed a binding long-term lithium offtake agreement with top-tier European auto manufacturer BMW AG (BMW) to secure the company’s first offtake of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from Wolfsberg.
- The company has signed a binding agreement to build a Saudi Arabia-based hydroxide processing plant in partnership with Obeikan and deliver significant cost savings.
- The company is led by a management team with decades of experience and success in the mining and finance markets.
- European Lithium entered into a business combination agreement with Sizzle Acquisition, a US special purpose acquisition company, to which European Lithium will sell down its interest in its wholly owned Wolfsberg Lithium Project (Wolfsberg and Wolfsberg Lithium Project) and merge with Sizzle via a newly formed, lithium exploration and development company named, Critical Metals Corp.
- European Lithium has acquired 100 percent of the rights, title and interest in the Bretstein-Lachtal Project, Klementkogel Project and the Wildbachgraben Project, a group of exploration licenses covering 114.6 square kilometers, targeting lithium with known occurrences in the Styria mining district of Austria and nearby the Wolfsberg Lithium Project
- The company received high-grade lithium assays from sampling undertaken at various prospects within the Eastern Alps Lithium Satellite Projects, located in Austria, which are held 20 percent by European Lithium and 80 percent by EV Resources Limited (ASX: EVR).
Key Project
Wolfsberg Lithium Project
The Wolfsberg Lithium Project is a high-grade lithium project located in Carinthia in Austria. The project is 20 kilometers east of the town of Wolfsberg which is an industrial town with established infrastructure and sources of energy in place. European Lithium has a total of 54 exploration licenses, covering its two identified zones and mining licenses that may be permanently issued if conditions are met. The company recently secured additional mining licenses and extensions that grow the Wolfsberg project area to a total of 20 licenses over two mining fields, the original Andreas and new Barbara mining fields.
The property is an existing, developed exploration mine with substantial exploration and development work completed by previous owners. These projects were backed by the Austrian government and included extensive metallurgical testing, geological mapping, mining, and pre-feasibility studies in the 1980s.
The company completed its own positive PFS as well as an extensive assessment. The property features a high-grade lithium resource with an average of one percent lithium hydroxide. Additionally, it features a total measured, indicated, inferred and JORC-compliant resource of 12.88 million tonnes of lithium hydroxide in zone one only.
In 2023, European Lithium released the results of its definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Wolfsberg Lithium Project, demonstrating potential high returns, leveraging low operating costs, and benefiting from a lithium market which is anticipated to be in structural undersupply during most of the life of mine.
DFS highlights:
- Battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) production is ~8,800 tpa for 14.6 years;
- LHM opex (after byproducts) is US$17,016/t LHM on average compared to reported spot prices for LHM in February 2023 of US$79,500 DDP Antwerp;
- LHM prices modelled in the DFS are projected to be at a 39-percent discount to current spot prices in 2025 and then escalate by 2 percent per annum;
- Estimated capex is US$866 million which supports a post-tax NPV of US$1.5 billion @ weighted average cost of capital (WACC) 6 percent (WACC is determined by the split of debt and equity related to the BMW offtake agreement);
- Acceleration of decarbonization and energy transition in Europe combined with the rapid adoption of electric vehicles provides further upside.
Positive drill results from the 2018 drilling program confirm that zone two on the property could mirror zone one, which would double the project resource. Drilling on the property also revealed grades as high as 2.49 percent of lithium hydroxide.
European Lithium entered into a business combination agreement with Sizzle Acquisition Corp.(NASDAQ:SZZL), a US special purpose acquisition company, to which European Lithium will sell-down its interest in its wholly owned Wolfsberg Lithium Project (Wolfsberg and Wolfsberg Lithium Project) and merge with Sizzle via a newly formed, lithium exploration and development company named, Critical Metals Corp. European Lithium will be issued US$750 million worth of ordinary shares in Critical Metals, equivalent to approximately 80 percent of the ordinary shares in Critical Metals.
Once the business combination is completed, European Lithium will focus its activities on its existing portfolio of projects and investments, including the newly acquired Austrian Lithium Projects, consisting of 245 exploration licenses covering a total area of 114.6 square kilometers located approximately 70 kilometers north of the company’s Wolfsberg Lithium Project. The licenses cover ground that is considered prospective for lithium occurrences and initial surface sampling showing 3.98 percent lithium oxide.
The following summarizes the company’s interest in projects and investments:
- CRML – As outlined above, the company will be issued US$750 million worth of ordinary shares in CRML upon closing of the transaction.
- Listed investments – The company holds:
- 1,180,256,849 shares (representing 11.5 percent interest) in Cyclone Metals (ASX: CLE). CLE has recently acquired 100 percent of the Block 103 magnetite iron ore project located in the Labrador trough region of Canada.
- 15 million shares in Cufe Ltd (ASX: CUF).
- Unlisted investments – European Lithium holds a 7.5-percent equity interest in Tanbreez Mining Greenland A/S, which holds an exploitation permit for rare earths in Greenland.
- Exploration assets – European Lithium has an interest in:
- Austrian Lithium Project –100 percent of the rights, title and interest in the Bretstein-Lachtal, Klementkogel and Wildbachgraben projects covering an area of 114.6 square kilometers in total, which are prospective for lithium in Austria.
- Ukraine Projects - On 28 February 2023, the company announced that it had renegotiated the terms under which EUR will acquire European Lithium Ukraine LLC (European Lithium Ukraine), a Ukraine-incorporated company applying (through either court proceedings, public auction and/or production sharing agreement with the Ukraine Government) for 20-year special permits for the extraction and production of lithium at the Shevchenkivske Project and Dobra Project in Ukraine. On 28 February 2023, the company announced the end date to complete the acquisition has been extended to 2 November 2025.
In addition to the above, the company continues to review project opportunities in the mineral exploration area as part of its growth strategy.
Management Team
Dietrich Wanke - Chief Executive Officer
Dietrich Wanke has more than 30 years of experience in management at the operational level for underground and open-cut mines. Wanke has held statutory positions as registered manager under the applicable mining acts in several countries and commodities, most notably gold, silver, nickel, diamonds, coal, and iron. He has lived and served professionally for mining operations in Germany, Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Wanke has managed mining operations through all phases, starting from greenfield exploration to full-scale production, as well as the extension of existing mines. Wanke currently holds a position as general manager for Marampa Iron Ore in Sierra Leone. He’s worked in the past as general manager for Tolukuma Gold Mines in Papua New Guinea, mine manager for Atlas Iron in Western Australia, technical services manager for Thiess in Indonesia. Wanke served as mine manager for Kimberley Diamonds in Western Australia, technical services manager for Lightning Nickel in Western Australia, technical director for LMV, an engineering and surveying service provider for coal mines in Germany, technical services manager, and licensed surveyor for Laubag in Germany. Wanke holds a mine engineering/mine surveying degree from Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, a licensed mine surveyor’s certificate in Germany and first class mine manager's certificates in Western Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Melissa Chapman - CFO and Company Secretary
Melissa Chapman is a certified practicing accountant with over 14 years of experience in the mining industry. She has worked extensively in Australia and the United Kingdom, including five years as group financial controller for the Beny Steinmetz Group. Chapman has a bachelor of accounting from Murdoch University and has been a member of CPA Australia since 2000. Chapman has completed a graduate diploma in corporate governance with Chartered Secretaries of Australia.
Tony Sage - Chairman
Tony Sage has more than 35 years of experience in corporate advisory services, funds management, and capital raising, predominantly within the resource sector. Sage is based in Western Australia and has been involved in the management and financing of listed mining companies for the last 22 years. Sage has operated in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Romania, Russia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, South Africa, Indonesia, China, and Australia. He currently holds the positions of executive chairman of ASX-listed Fe and executive director of ASX-listed Cyclone Metals.
Malcolm Day - Director
Malcolm Day holds a Bachelor’s of applied science degree in surveying and mapping. Day commenced his career working in the civil construction industry for 10 years, six of which were spent in senior management as a licensed surveyor and then later as a civil engineer. Whilst working as a surveyor, Day spent three years conducting mining and exploration surveys in remote Western Australia. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Day is the managing director of Delecta (ASX:DLC).
Michael Carter - Non-executive Director
Michael Carter graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1998 with a bachelor of commerce degree, majoring in accounting and finance. Carter also completed a graduate diploma in applied finance and investment at Finsia in 2002. He is experienced in structuring corporate transactions, focusing on junior resource companies, and has also worked in ongoing corporate advisory roles with numerous ASX-listed entities over the last 18 years. Carter has been employed as a stockbroker since 1999, previously served as a director of Indian Ocean Capita’ and is currently an associate director of CPS Capital.
Forward Water Technologies
Overview
Forward Water Technologies (TSXV:FWTC) is helping lithium mining companies and other industries reduce their environmental impact through its innovative wastewater treatment technology that enables industrial operations to reduce liquid waste volume by up to 95 percent.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings continue to be a key business strategy for organizations as they impact public perception and partnership possibilities. For water-intensive industries, such as mining, sustainable wastewater management is critical.
Transformative wastewater technologies are critical for both businesses and the world’s population. In fact, unless sufficient progress is achieved, UNICEF and WHO estimate that 1.6 billion people will be without access to safe drinking water by 2030, and 2.8 billion will be without access to safe sanitation and hygiene. Water treatment technologies can disrupt current trends and improve global access to safe drinking water.
Through its Forward Osmosis (FO) technology, Forward Water is providing an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional wastewater disposal. Traditionally, wastewater disposal requires transporting untreated wastewater for deep well disposal or high-intensity thermal treatment.
Forward Water’s FO system is installed at the client site, and wastewater is treated to reduce waste volume and produce valuable clean water for reuse in the manufacturing process. Then, the significantly reduced volume of wastewater is transported and disposed of, significantly saving on transportation and disposal costs.
The FO technology targets three massive sectors: industrial wastewater, mining and food manufacturing. Forward Water’s unique and patented FO technology achieves high-rate water extraction within a low-energy continuous process. The process reduces waste and allows up to 95 percent water recovery, ready for reuse.
Forward Water’s Li-FO™ technology is ideal for lithium-brine mining operations, allowing mines to “fine tune” brine sources to improve concentration by up to 20 times. This results in improved recovery and makes lower-concentration brines economically viable. Forward Water is currently embarking on an early development testing project to further evaluate and refine the technology’s viability in lithium mining.
In 2023, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Forward Water Technologies Inc., licensed specific intellectual property from FUJIFILM Corporation to solidify the protection of its water treatment technology platform.
CleanTech Lithium (AIM:CTL,Frankfurt:T2N,OTC:CTLHF) has contracted FWT to provide advisory services for the support and development of CleanTech Lithium's direct lithium extraction (DLE) process in Chile. The collaboration will use FWT’s industrial forward osmosis system in the hyper-concentrating of CleanTech Lithium's eluate and its conversion into battery-grade lithium carbonate through Conductive Energy's DLE process.
Howie Honeyman, CEO, explained in an interview how the company’s technology can improve lithium mining operations. “A lot of lithium being mined today around the world is coming from underground aquifers that store the lithium brine. The challenge is that the lithium is surrounded by other minerals and salts, requiring chemical ‘tweezers’ to pluck out that lithium. What we can do is, at multiple places in that process, we can concentrate that lithium-containing water stream, which makes it far easier for these miners to handle the volumes they need to extract that lithium.”
An experienced management team with technical expertise leads the company towards further refining and deploying its technology. The team includes experts in materials science, chemistry and engineering. Additional experts in corporate administration and financing round out the leadership team to lead the company toward its goals.
Company Highlights
- Forward Water Technologies has developed a patented wastewater treatment technology that reduces wastewater volume and improves reusability across multiple industries, including mining and food manufacturing.
- The company’s Forward Osmosis (FO) technology disrupts the traditional method of wastewater disposal by reducing the amount of waste that must be transported and disposed of, directly reducing costs.
- The FO technology also improves water reusability by up to 95 percent, reducing the expense of importing water for industrial processes.
- The Forward Water Technologies Li-FO™ process is applicable in the lithium mining sector by improving concentration by up to 20 times, allowing organizations to improve extraction efficiency.
- The company has partnered with a lithium-brine extraction operation to evaluate its Li-FO™ technology.
- Forward Water Technologies is in early negotiations to deliver an FWTC forward osmosis pilot system on-site in Chile to support a customer's lithium extraction process.
- Forward Water Technologies has licensed specific intellectual property from FUJIFILM Corporation to solidify the protection of its water treatment technology platform.
- The company has been contracted by CleanTech Lithium to provide advisory services for the support and development of CleanTech Lithium's direct lithium extraction processes in Chile.
- An experienced management team with a blend of relevant technical expertise leads the company toward refining and marketing its technology.
Key Project
Forward Osmosis Water Treatment
Forward Osmosis is a naturally occurring process in which water is spontaneously drawn across a membrane when one solution is higher in salt concentration than the other. The difference in salinity, known as the osmotic gradient, creates a low-energy water treatment process.
Forward Water Technologies has leveraged the naturally occurring process to innovate its patented, three-step FO technology, enabling a 95 percent wastewater reduction and 95 percent water recovery.
Project Highlights:
- Patented Three-Step Process: Forward Water Technologies FO process achieves low-energy and high-rate water extraction with a unique three-step design:
- Water Extraction: Water is drawn across the FO membrane into a salt draw solution. The combination of the patented draw solution and unique membrane “locks” the draw solution on one side of the membrane, creating a true closed-loop process.
- Water/Salt Separation: Next, a switchable water salt (SWS) achieves water/salt separation as low-grade heat is applied, and it phases from liquid to gas. As the gas leaves the solution, clean water is left behind. The energy necessary for this step is often found in many facilities in the form of waste heat.
- Salt Draw Reconcentration: Finally, as the gas leaves the solution, it is captured within the closed-loop system and is passively cooled, causing it to phase back into liquid form as an SWS. The SWS liquid is collected and recycled back to the front of the membranes in the water extraction step, creating a continuous process.
- Widely Applicable Water Treatment: The low-energy process allows organizations across several industries to improve water reclamation and reduce wastewater by up to 95 percent. Additionally, the process allows for up to 20 times concentration, making the process amenable to lithium-brine extraction and other potential applications.
- Significant Cost Savings: The primary value proposition for the FO process is cost reduction in wastewater transportation and disposal. With the process in place, more water is reclaimed for reuse in manufacturing, which reduces the raw volume of wastewater that must be transported and disposed of.
Management Team
Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer and President
Dr. Howie Honeyman has 20 years of experience commercializing new technologies at Xerox, Cabot, E Ink, Natrix Separations and as former CTO of GreenCentre Canada. Honeyman commercialized high-capacity, high-throughput membranes for bioprocessing as SVP of Natrix Separations, which has since been acquired by Millipore-Sigma. Since 2015, Honeyman has been leading Forward Water to become a premier wastewater treatment solution. Honeyman is also an inventor of record on over 50 US patents and holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Toronto.
Michael Willetts - Chief Financial Officer
Michael Willetts has over 25 years in financial leadership roles primarily in manufacturing, from large multinational businesses to startups, both public and private. He previously worked as an engineer in the automotive industry before entering into finance at Ford Motor Company. Willets went on to progressively larger finance roles in several international automotive suppliers (Textron, GKN, DSM) and Canadian manufacturers (Armtec, Stronach International, AirBoss of America). Willetts is currently providing fractional CFO services through WD Numeric Corporate Services in the manufacturing, SaaS and cannabis industries. Willetts graduated with a BASc, BComm and MBA from the University of Windsor.
Wayne Maddever - Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Wayne Maddever received his Ph.D. in materials science engineering from the University of Toronto. Since 1985, he has held senior executive management positions with technically based businesses in start-up, turnaround or acquisition situations where his skills in change management have brought considerable success in the commercialization of new technologies. His experience in both private and public companies, domestically and internationally, spans a broad variety of industries, including bio and advanced materials, precision manufacturing, recycling, waste-to-energy and medical devices. He holds a number of patents in several fields. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. In addition to his duties as COO of Forward Water, he is currently portfolio manager at Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, one of the major shareholders of Forward Water.
Grant Thornley - VP Engineering Solution Sales
Grant Thornley is a business strategist with more than 25 years of experience. He has developed and grown international water/wastewater markets through innovative growth hacking techniques and processes, synergized with product development and positioning, data analytics and acceleration of go-to-market strategies through alliances and partnerships. Having expertise in chemical, mechanical and biological treatment processes as well as designing hundreds of municipal and industrial applications, Thornley brings a knowledge-to-action approach to helping clients solve problems and realize new opportunities in water reuse, energy conservation and CO2 reduction.
Leonard Seed - Director of Engineering & Operations
Leonard Seed has over 18 years of experience developing and commercializing new water and wastewater treatment technologies, primarily in a start-up environment. Seed is named as an inventor on over seven patents and has authored several publications. Seed is a professional engineer and has an MSc in environmental engineering from the University of Guelph. Leonard holds inventorship on seven US patents and is an instructor at Mohawk College teaching aspects of water treatment technologies and leading research efforts on forward osmosis.
Philip Jessop - Executive Research Director
Dr. Philip Jessop is a professor and Canada Research Chair of Green Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He also serves as the technical director of GreenCentre Canada and executive research director at Forward Water Technologies. After his Ph.D. (British Columbia, 1991) and a postdoctoral appointment (Toronto, 1992), he became a contract researcher in Japan working for R. Noyori (Nobel Prize 2001). As a professor at the University of California-Davis (1996-2003) and since then at Queen’s, he has studied green solvents and the chemistry of carbon dioxide. Distinctions include the NSERC Polanyi Award (2008), Killam Research Fellowship (2010), Canadian Green Chemistry & Engineering Award (2012), Eni Award (2013), Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (2013), a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 (2013 to 2020), and the NSERC Brockhouse Prize (2019). He serves as chair of the editorial board for the journal Green Chemistry, has chaired three international conferences, and helped create GreenCentre Canada, a national center of excellence for the commercialization of green chemistry technologies. Forward Water is a spin-off company based on Dr. Jessop’s switchable solvents.
Quarterly Activities Report for the Period Ended 31 March 2024
Highlights
Solonópole Project, Ceará, Brazil
- Anomalous lithium values above 100 ppm (and up to 631 ppm) found in 383 soil samples within existing and new target areas.
- Integration and interpretation of these soil sample results with data from geophysics, geological mapping (138 line-km), trenching and RC drilling (~2,000m) further enhance prospectivity of existing and new targets.
- Combined datasets confirmed several swarms of pegmatite bodies striking in a NE-SW and E-W directions and identified new high priority areas.
- Nira interpreted to be the most prospective new target, with 180 soil samples of >100 ppm Li and as high as 524 ppm Li covering an area of at least 1km2.
- Nira also features 17 pegmatite outcrops with average widths of up to 30 meters and strike lengths from 200m to 600m.
- Planning for the next follow-up drilling campaign is underway.
Napperby Project, Northern Territory, Australia
- Oceana’s Napperby Project covers some of Arunta Province’s hottest granites plutons, the Wangala Granite (uranium) and Ennugan Mountains Granite (uranium/thorium).
- Both granite plutons show outstanding uranium/thorium ratios and are almost fully encapsulated within Napperby’s EL32836 and ELA32841.
- Follow-up exploration activities will target uranium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in parallel with Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatites.
Corporate
- Experienced geologist and mining executive, Aidan Platel, appointed as non- executive director.
- Brazilian-based geologist, Mike Sousa, appointed as Exploration Manager and Competent Person.
- The Company remains well-funded with cash at 31 March of ~$2.67m.
OPERATIONS
Solonópole Project, Ceará State, Brazil
The Solonópole Project area is located in the state of Ceará, north-eastern Brazil and consists of ten (10) exploration permits covering approximately 124km2 (Figure 1), owned by Oceana’s subsidiary Ceará Litio. The project is approximately three to four hours by road from the state capital Fortaleza and deep-water port of Pecém, and is well serviced by sealed highways and high voltage electricity.
Figure 1: Solonópole Project permits and targets drilled in May – June 2023 (red dots)
Large-Scale Soil Sampling and Geological Mapping at Solonópole Lithium Project
The large-scale infill soil sampling program that commenced in March 2023 continued over the project area (Figure 2). The optimized sampling grids are along 200m spaced lines with 25m sampling stations, aligned north south to cut across all typical pegmatite strike directions in this area.
As at 31 March 2024, over 10,300 soil samples had been collected from Solonópole and 8,741 soil samples had been analysed by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) for Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pathfinders, of which 1,908 soil samples have lab results validated by Oceana´s internal QA/QC. Anomalous lithium values above 100 ppm and up to 631 ppm were found in 383 soil samples within existing and new target areas.
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This article includes content from Oceana Lithium, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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