お知らせ • Apr 24
Lithium Energi Exploration Inc. Announces Completion of Antofalla North & South Drilling Program
Lithium Energi Exploration Inc. announced that it has completed drilling at the Antofalla North Project and the Antofalla South Project, in the south of the salar. The Campaign consisted of 1,003.4 meters across the northern and southern properties. Three diamond holes were drilled in the northern LEA I, LEA XXVI and LEA V properties. Two diamond holes to 200 m depth, and a third hole to 302 m depth, were drilled in the LEA XXVI property in the south of the salAR. The average depth of all holes across these two Campaigns was 284 m. Core samples were collected to provide measurements of porosity. Samples were collected every 12 m, with porosity results yet to be received from the laboratory for the second program. Brine sample analyses have been conducted at the independent Alex Stewart Laboratories to yield full spectroscopic analysis of brine chemistry and lithium concentrations. The Alex Stuart laboratory in the city of Jujuy was used as the primary laboratory, with the laboratory in Mendoza used as the check laboratory. All brine samples have now been received from the program. The Company used the services of specialized downhole geophysical contractor, Zelandez Limited, to collectorehole magnetic resonance (BMR) measurements of in-situ porosity (specific yield) in the holes. This provides detailed measurements of porosity on a centimeter-scale, to understand changes in porosity with depth and location, providing high quality detailed information on the porosity of the sediments. Additionally, data from spectral gamma and resistivity logging tools, was collected, to provide additional lithological information. The Antofalla basin is a long, narrow, fault-based graben - identified as one of the larger depressions, hosting extensive lithium-bearing brine - although the total depth in the basin is not well known. The results of the brine sampling are presented in tables 2 and 3, for the southern and northern drilling programs. The brine sample results are higher from the southern LEA XXVI property, which is located on the western side of the salar. The lithium concentration increases from north to south through the Antofolla South Project (LEA XXVI), with the lithium concentration increasing from an average of 238 mg/l Li in the northern hole DDH01, to 308 mg/l Li in the central hole DDH5 and 412 mg/l Li in the southern hole DDH3. Lithium concentration also showed an increase with depth in the holes, suggesting the influence of surficial infiltration of surface water and dilution of brine, most notably in the northern hole, DDH01 LEA XXVI. The suggestion from the TEM and MT geophysics, and knowledge on other salar systems, is that lithium-bearing brine will extend west off the salar below areas of gravel, and potentially into porous Tertiary age sediments or volcanics. This concept remains to be tested by future drilling. In LEA XXVI brine is present in a surficial sequence of salt, which is underlain by sands and gravels, which is underlain by sand and gravels, which varying in their degree of compaction and porosity. Drilling is not believed to have intersected tertiary terrestrial sediments, which are present around the salar margins, and potentially form the base of the salar. These southern drill holes have terminated in gravel units, which are believed to be alluvial fans, formed from sediment eroded from the salar margins and deposited within the salar, and later covered by salt. This is a pattern noted in many other salar basins. The northern drill holes intersected a sequence of interbedded loose friable sands and compact gypsum sands, gravels, sands and occasional volcanic units across the LEA XXVI, LEAI and LEAV properties on the west and east of the salar. These drillholes are in the northern part of the salar, within Catamarca province, north of the Antofalla village. Lithium concentrations in the northern properties were lower than those in the northern properties were lower from the LEA XXVI. Lithium concentrations in the LEA XXVI.