Announcement • Jan 09
Rok Resources Announces Preliminary Economic Assessment Results for the Viewfield Lithium Brine Project
ROK Resources Inc. announced the highlights of Hub City Lithium's Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA") on the Viewfield Lithium Brine Project, Saskatchewan. The PEA outlines the estimated production of battery-quality lithium carbonate equivalent ("lithium carbonate" or "LCE") over a 23-year period, which represents an estimated pre-tax internal rate of return ("IRR") of 55% and a pre-tax net present value ("NPV") of $1.49 billion, at an 8% discount rate. The PEA encompasses 11,000 net hectares of land at Viewfield project area, representing 46% of Hub City Lithium's Viewfield land holdings and only 14% of Hub City Lithium's total land holdings in Southern Saskatchewan. The development plan employed in the PEA has been broken into three distinct units: Wellfield: includes all production wellbores, disposal wellbores and pipeline networks. Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE"): includes infrastructure related to pre-filtration and DLE operations. Koch Technology Solutions ("KTS") was the DLE technical partner selected for the PEA. Concentration, Refining and Conversion ("CRC"): includes all infrastructure downstream of DLE required to refine and convert lithium chloride eluent into battery grade LCE. Saltworks Technologies ("Saltworks") was the CRC technical provider selected for the PEA. Based on production testing and fluid analysis conducted by HCL in 2023 in the Viewfield project area, in addition to publicly available lithium testing throughout the area, it is expected to see lithium grades of 84 mg/L to 259 mg/L in the seven target members of the Duperow within the PEA lands. Over the life of the project, an average weighted concentration of 128 mg/L has been estimated. Exploitation of the resource will occur in two production stages via multi-leg, horizontal wellbores. All project capital (minus end-of life capex) is allocated at the beginning of the project, with production estimated to commence in First Quarter 2027. Stage 1: Wymark C, D and E (Years 1-7) These zones are the shallowest and highest concentration (160 mg/L to 259 mg/L) zones and will be produced first through to depletion Average LCE output during Stage 1 is 18,850 tonnes per year with average OPEX of $2,332 per tonne Stage 2: Wymark A, B and Saskatoon A, B (Years 8 onward). These zones are lower concentration (84 mg/l to 145 mg/L) and will be exploited after depletion of Wymark C, D and E Average LCE output during Stage 2 is 10,200 tonnes per year with average OPEX of $4,166 per tonne Note: A recovery factor of 50% of Total Lithium in Place was estimated for the PEA A total of 36 multi-leg production wells will be drilled to exploit 7 target members of the Duperow, in addition to 30 vertical disposal wells to dispose of spent brine and process water. A network of underground pipelines will be constructed to transport the large water volumes from the wellheads to a DLE site for extraction and concentration to lithium chloride, and from there the eluent will be transported via pipelines to a CRC site for refining and conversion into battery-grade LCE. A total of five DLE sites and two CRC sites will process a daily average of 62,000 m3/day of brine, resulting in an average output of 12,175 tonnes per year of battery-grade LCE. A detailed future pricing study for lithium carbonate was not completed for this PEA. A constant price of $20,000 per tonne of battery-grade lithium carbonate was chosen by reviewing publicly available pricing data and peer released economic assessments of similar lithium resources. Certain industry peers have used a constant price of $25,000 per tonne LCE in PEAs released over the last 12 months, however in light of current global pricing for lithium, Hub City Lithium selected a base case of $20,000 per tonne with price sensitivities included at +/-20%. The PEA outlines the taxes based on both the Canadian Federal Government and the Province of Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan corporate income tax rate is 12%. The basic Canadian federal corporate tax rate is 38% of the Company's income and 28% after federal tax abatement. After all tax holidays, the Company's net federal tax rate is 15%, with a total combined tax rate of 27%. The majority of the Viewfield project area is on Crown land and is subject to Crown royalties. Within the Province of Saskatchewan, the Crown royalty rate is estimated at 3%, with a one-year royalty holiday for each facility hub. The balance of the Viewfield project area is subject to freehold royalties which commercial terms vary based on individual lease agreements. The Preliminary Economic Assessment was prepared by Sproule Associates Limited ("Sproule") with the assistance of the contractors outlined below. All contractors completing the report are Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101 and are independent of the Company. The National Instrument 43-101 PEA report will be filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) within 45 days. Sproule Associates Limited: Sproule is a global energy consulting and advisory firm that helps companies, investors and governments minimize risk and optimize business decisions. Ms. Meghan Klein ("Klein"),P.Eng., is the Senior Manager Engineering at Sproule and a Qualified Person for the PEA. Red Tree Exploration Inc. ("Red Tree Exploration"): Red Tree Exploration is an independent Geological consulting company with experience in oil and gas, lithium and helium evaluations. Mr. Trevor Else ("Else"), P.Geo., is a Qualified Person for the PEA and the President of Red Tree Exploration. Koch Technology Solutions: Koch Technology Solutions is a technology licensing business, a part of Koch Engineered Solutions. KTS creates value for its customers across a growing portfolio of technologies including the polyester value chain, the refining industry and lithium extraction fields. Mr. Marc Egbers ("Egbers"), is a Qualified Person for the PEA and the Director of Li-Pro™ Direct Lithium Extraction Commercial Solutions with KTS. Saltworks Technologies: Saltworks is a team of engineers, scientists and builders focused on the innovation, construction and delivery of full-scale systems to treat industrial wastewater and refine lithium into a battery-grade product. Mr. Ben Sparrow ("Sparrow"), P.Eng., is a Qualified Person for the PEA and CEO of Saltworks. Each of Klein, Else, Egbers and Sparrow are independent Qualified Persons in accordance with NI 43-101 and have reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.