Resources & Resource Upside
ZINNWALD LITHIUM DEPOSIT
256.5 ha and with a 30-year mining licence to 31 December 2047
Measured plus Indicated Mineral Resource estimate containing 35.51 Mt at a grade of 0.76% Li2O (3,519 ppm Li) containing 124,974 tonnes Li at cut-off grade of 0.54% Li2O (2,500 ppm Li)
Represents c.665,000 tonnes of LCE, comprising c.357,500 tonnes of LCE in Measured Resources & c.307,500 tonnes of LCE in Indicated Resources
Estimated Inferred Mineral Resources of 4.87 Mt at a grade of 0.76% Li2O (3,549 ppm Li) containing 17,266 tonnes Li metal (approximately 92,000 tonnes LCE)
NI 43-101 Resource Report was published in 2018
Resource classification* Ore tonnage
(000t) Mean Li2O
grade (%) Contained LCE (tonnes)
Measured 18,510 0.78% 357,659
Indicated 17,000 0.73% 307,579
Inferred 4,865 0.76% 91,906
Total (Measured + Indicated) 35,510 0.76% 665,238
Total Inferred 4,865 0.76% 91,906
THE SADISDORF LICENCE
The Sadisdorf lies c 20km NW of Zinnwald and is located in the same geological corridor as Zinnwald.
The greisen-type geology is also being explored for Lithium and Tin mineralisation.
225 ha with a 5-year term to 30 June 2026
2017 historic JORC compliant inferred mineral resource of 25 Mt with an average grade of 0.45% Li2O (average 2,053 ppm Li)
JORC (2012) Mineral Resource estimate as at 23 November 2017
Resource classification* Ore tonnage
(000t) Mean Li2O
grade (%) Contained LCE (tonnes)
Inferred (inner Greisen) 17,000 0.47% 197,593
Inferred (outer Greisen) 8,000 0.43% 85,071
Inferred (Total) 25,000 0.45% 282,664
Notes: MRE defined by 3D wireframe interpretation with sub-cell block modelling. Grades estimated using Ordinary Kriging. The MRE is reported at a cut-off of 0.15% Li (0.3% Li2O). The block model has been depleted to reflect historical mining.
THE FALKENHAIN LICENCE
Located only 7km north of the Zinnwald project, Falkenhain is a promising satellite target with expected lithium, tin and tungsten mineralisation held in the same Greisen-granite as Zinnwald.
Historical exploration data indicates resources hosted in several ore bodies containing lithium, tin metal and tungsten
295.7 ha and with a 5-year term to 31 December 2022
THE ALTENBERG LICENCE
Located around the granted mining Zinnwald, the Altenberg DL exploration license presents the “step-out” and expansion opportunity for Zinnwald.
4,225.3 ha and with a 5-year term to 15 February 2024
Products
While the project provides the opportunity to produce a suite of battery grade lithium products (lithium hydroxide ‘LiOH’, lithium carbonate ‘Li2CO3’, lithium fluoride ‘LiF’), following an analysis of market trends in battery chemistry and end-user demand, the Company aims to focus on lithium hydroxide as a primary product to better align with the requirements of European off takers.
Accordingly, test work, conducted in Germany by a leading industry specialist, K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies, and verified by a third-party laboratory through chemical and physical analysis, processed Zinnwaldite concentrate into high purity (above 99.9% purity) Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (‘LHM’). Furthermore, economic, technical, and commercial analysis performed indicated that annual lithium hydroxide production above 10,000 tons could be viable from the core Zinnwald license.
Lithium recovery from the Zinnwaldite concentrate to the lithium-product was proven to be above 80% and comparable to lithium processes from other types of lithium resources.
In the test programme, calcined Zinnwaldite concentrate was converted into battery grade LHM in a pilot plant scale test with almost 50kg of battery grade LHM produced out of several tons of Zinnwaldite concentrate. The level of impurities in the battery grade lithium salt were in line with, or below, similar battery grade lithium products available on the market.
The test work also confirmed the potential to produce economically significant amounts of commercially saleable co-products, such as high-purity SOP and PCC.
Environment & Permits
The Company holds an approved Mining License for the Zinnwald deposit and is working to update its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to align with the new project strategy. It has been working with several local partners to assess key risk areas and develop appropriate strategies for environmental protection of potential future operation.