What are the recent highlights for Lithium Chile?

As one of the largest land holders in the junior mining sector, Lithium Chile is encouraged by the recent announcement by President Boric in respect to the future of lithium in Chile. We have acquired over 110,000 hectares of lithium rich projects across the country; the creation of a state-owned lithium company would create a vehicle that could joint venture with companies like ours to advance these projects to the mutual benefit of both parties.

Lithium Chile has defined several priority projects as part of its 2023 exploration program in Chile. The company has garnered community approval to drill a 4-well exploration program on the salar de Llamara, which we anticipate beginning the second half of May. Llamara is a 35,500-hectare property with historic drill results showing lithium grades up to 343 mg/l.

We are actively putting the pieces in place to advance some of our other projects in Chile. Brine sampling on our Los Morros property shows lithium grades of up to 700mg/l, with a low magnesium impurity. Following permitting, the company intends to advance this project with a 3-4 well exploration program.

Detailed surface brine, sediment and rock sampling took place in January on our 2,500-hectare property in Aquas Calientes. Prior government sampling returned lithium values of up to 380 mg/l from surface brine pools. The company has existing permits on part of the claims for borax mining which we believe will benefit the company’s overall permitting process.

Can you describe investor interest in your properties?

We expect the regulatory environment to change in Chile as evidenced by the recent announcement from the Boric Government on creating a state-owned Lithium company to work with the private sector in attracting investment and advancing Chile’s lithium production. We have received many expressions of interest, JV’s and offers from companies who have come to Chile and been told that we have the best exploration package in the country.

What do you foresee for the supply-demand dynamics of lithium?

The unpredictable part of lithium pricing is how quickly governments will move to mandate electric transportation. There are already rumors that the US will outlaw the internal combustion engine. Many political factors could accelerate the process and increase the supply-demand imbalance.

For all the money that has been poured into Argentina in the past five years, there are still only two producing mines, with two more forecasted to come onstream before the year ends. Prices will continue to be volatile, as commodity prices are, but we are going to see that range move up as demand for EVs increases.

What is your perspective on the regulatory push for DLE?

The only commercial plant utilizing DLE in South America is in Argentina, and they use a combination of evaporation and DLE. Ideally, DLE uses less water, but we've found in some of the studies that we've done that there is less water usage if you pre-concentrate. A combination of some evaporation and some DLE may provide the benefit of using less water than one or the other. Most DLE companies that we have looked at have an optimal range of lithium concentration of between 200-300 mg/l lithium where their processes are most efficient. We have also run tests on preconcentration of the brines to see what impact higher lithium levels have on things like Capex, Opex, and water usage. This research is ongoing. DLE is the way of the future, and people have embraced it, but a perfect solution has yet to be found. It will work itself out, but it will take some time.

Can you provide an update on your upcoming activities? 

We will begin our next project in Chile, the Salar de Llamara, around May 15. We have community approval and four locations earmarked. Permitting of that has begun, and if everything goes to plan, we will be able to mobilize by the middle of May and start the first of four wells. It's our priority project over the next three to six months.

Last year I reshuffled the leadership and made José de Castro the new Vice President of all South American lithium operations. Before, the expertise of our Chilean team was primarily exploration geologists, which is a different mindset than running a lithium project. People call it lithium mining, but it should be considered part of the chemical industry. Lithium brines are chemical, and production is more like the chemical industry than your typical hard rock. José de Castro has brought his vision and passion to the team in La Serena. With the combination of José's stewardship and the change to the regulatory situation, we expect operations to pick up in Chile. Lithium Chile is well capitalized, with over $40 million in the bank giving us the ability to advance our vast land portfolio and evaluate opportunities as they arise.

Why does Lithium Chile stand out?

We are far and away the cheapest lithium company at this gestation period of any listed company on the market. Prices are correcting, and there will be carnage in the lithium industry for the latecomers because the pricing will not support their pipe dream. If you look for actual value, we have one of the largest land portfolios in the junior sector, we have a reported lithium resource of 2.587 million t LCE that will be updated in our 43-101 technical report by the end of April or early May. We're building a real resource and a real company, and that value is not reflected in our market cap.