- American Lithium’s Plan of Operations, submitted in January 2021, has been accepted for review and is deemed complete by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
- No species or habitat protected under the Endangered Species Act are present within the project area
- The PO increases the surface disturbance allowance to 168 acres in two phases, 84.5 acres in Phase 1, and 78.5 acres in Phase 2
- The American Lithium team prioritized all environmental and cultural work early on to fast-track the project towards this next phase of drilling and testing
- American Lithium Corp is a Canada-based exploration-stage company
- American Lithium Corp opened trading at C1.53 per share
American Lithium (LI) is pleased to provide an update on recent developments at its Tonopah Lithium Claims Project located close to Tonopah, Nevada (TLC).
Highlights:
- The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has confirmed that American Lithium’s Plan of Operations, submitted in January 2021, has been accepted for review and is deemed complete
- Biological and Cultural Baseline Surveys prepared by American Lithium, in conjunction with EM Strategies Inc. of Reno, conducted in 2020 confirmed that no species or habitat protected under the Endangered Species Act are present within the project area.
- BLM has confirmed that a standard Environmental Assessment (EA) is sufficient for the approval of this PO. Approval of PO anticipated within 3 months, enabling the next phase of development.
- The next phase at TLC to include a drill program of up to 95 drill holes to extend, expand and upgrade existing resources and complete up to 5 test pits for metallurgical bulk sampling.
- The company remains focused on becoming a secure, sustainable, environmentally responsible supplier of battery-grade lithium products for the North American Battery / EV markets.
- Strong alignment with 100-Day Review focused on strengthening Critical Supply Chains, including domestic lithium supply, recently announced by The White House.
Simon Clarke, Chief Executive Officer & Director of American Lithium stated,
“We are very pleased that the BLM has accepted the company’s Plan of Operations as complete. This is a key step towards the approval of the PO and the launch of the next phase of development and operations at TLC. The proactive and early steps taken by the company to ensure that no major environmental issues exist at TLC are helping us move the project ahead as quickly as possible and differentiate us positively from several other claystone projects in Nevada.
At the same time, securing water rights for TLC early in the process, while recognizing the need to be as water-efficient as possible and to minimize impacts to the land and water surrounding TLC, has also shown our commitment to being as environmentally responsible as possible and the retaining of Minviro further underlines this commitment. Our focus is not only on implementing a flowsheet to produce battery-grade lithium products at TLC which is as cost-effective as possible but also one that minimizes any potential environmental impacts. Our flow-sheet design work and process engineering continue at a fast pace while we await approval of the PO and the launch of the next phase of drilling.
TLC’s unique characteristics provide it with the potential to be amongst the best lithium projects globally from a cost and environmental perspective.”
TLC Project update:
As reported on January 13th, 2021, the company filed an Application for a Plan of Operations (PO) for its next phase of development and operations at TLC. This PO increases the surface disturbance allowance to 168 acres in two phases, 84.5 acres in Phase 1, and 78.5 acres in Phase 2, and includes all necessary descriptions of environmental and reclamation planning for the next phase of operations, which includes:
- Up to 95 new drill holes to further understand, characterize and high-grade the extensive TLC resource and to enable resource expansion to the north, south and west of the current resource and to upgrade existing resource classifications.
- Up to 5 large test pits planned to provide bulk sample material for metallurgical testing as the Company moves to finalize and optimize its flow-sheet design to produce battery-grade lithium products and to maximize project economics while minimizing environmental footprint.
- One 5-acre laydown area intended for future pilot plant work for the feasibility phase.
- Biological and cultural surveys that can be used for future permitting work for feasibility phase and future mine plan, without additional cost.
The American Lithium team prioritized all environmental and cultural work early on to fast-track the project towards this next phase of drilling and testing.
The biological surveys conducted for the PO Application found no species or habitat protected under the ESA (Endangered Species Act) within the project area, expediting the Company’s ability to move towards this next phase of development. The information gained under the proposed new drilling/testing program will lead to the finalization of a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) and a mine plan.
The BLM has accepted and deemed the PO complete with no significant issues.
At this stage of development, and based on the environmental work conducted to date, the BLM has commenced an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the TLC Project as opposed to the more arduous Environmental Impact Study (EIS). With the PO application now being deemed complete and the EA commenced, the Company can now focus on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements for the permitting of future phases of the TLC project.
In addition to the fact that the TLC Project has no endangered species or plants, the characteristics of the clays-hosted lithium mineralization also provide several environmental advantages for the recovery of lithium products. The mineralization is near surface, easy to mine and highly leachable.
American Lithium has retained Minviro Ltd to complete a Life Cycle Assessment for the production of battery-grade lithium products at TLC, integrating environmental impact data into the decision-making process as the Company looks to finalize and optimize its flow-sheet design. The sustainability expertise provided by the Minviro life cycle assessment will be a huge step in ensuring that the flow-sheet design selected leverages the unique characteristics of TLC claystone mineralization into the best lithium recovery process from an environmental perspective.
Minviro, a Registered Sustainability Consultancy headquartered in London, England, is a team composed of industry experts on environmental impacts in the mining industry. Robert Pell, PhD., Founder and CEO at Minviro, holds a degree in life cycle assessment of critical metal projects, positioning him as a global expert in determining the impacts of various mining operations and processing methods. The Minviro team is rounded out by a team of experienced engineers and scientists who are passionate about improving the environmental performance of critical global resource projects.
American Lithium Corp is a Canada-based exploration-stage company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium projects within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the Americas.
American Lithium Corp opened trading at C1.53 per share.