92 Resources Corp. Produces Spodumene Concentrate of 6.16% Li2O from Pegmatites of the Hidden Lake Project, NWT
Vancouver - 92 Resources Corp. (the “Company”) (TSX.V: NTY) (FSE: R9G2) is pleased to provide an update on the preliminary metallurgical program for its wholly owned Hidden Lake Lithium Project (the “Project” or “Property”), Northwest Territories. The Property is situated within the central parts of the Yellowknife Lithium Pegmatite Belt, along Highway 4, approximately 40 km east of Yellowknife. Highlights include:
- Production of high-grade mineral concentrate of 6.16% Li2O at 79% recovery using standard spodumene flotation methods
- An average spodumene lithium content of 3.8% Li (8.2% Li2O) – near maximum theoretical limit
- Muscovite confirmed as the dominant mica, and correspondingly, has a low lithium content (less than 0.03% Li) – favourable for mineral processing
In the first beneficiation test on the pegmatites comprising the Hidden Lake Project, the Company successfully produced a mineral concentrate of 6.16% Li2O at 79% recovery. The result was achieved using a standard spodumene flotation flowsheet applied to a composite of the HL1, HL3, HL4, and D12 pegmatites collected in 2016. To date, a total of five flotation tests have been completed, with a peak spodumene concentrate grade of 6.85% Li2O achieved. These results support the favourable liberation characteristics of the Hidden Lake pegmatites, and their amenability to simple and conventional spodumene mineral processing methods.
Laser ablation work recently completed on the spodumene minerals indicates a lithium content near the stoichiometric value at ~3.8% Li (~8.2% Li2O), and implies a maximum theoretical spodumene concentrate grade of ~8.2% Li2O. Coupled with a low iron content (<0.25% FeO), this preliminary mineralogy work indicates the spodumene present at Hidden Lake is of high-quality.
Company President and CEO Adrian Lamoureux comments, “We are very encouraged by these excellent results so early in our preliminary metallurgical work program. This initial work demonstrates the high lithium – low iron nature of the spodumene at Hidden Lake, as well as its favourable upgrading characteristics, both of which are highly attractive attributes of the Project”
In addition, a low lithium muscovite (<0.03% Li) also been confirmed as the primary mica present at Hidden Lake. This is a favourable finding as the presence of a high lithium mica (e.g. lepidolite) would dilute the lithium content of a final concentrate as typically the lithium content would be significantly less than that of spodumene.
Montebrasite is present in variable amounts in the pegmatites at Hidden Lake, with its significance yet to be defined, and characterization work ongoing.
Montebrasite, a lithium phosphate mineral that may contain as much as 11% Li2O, is the fluorine poor -end-member of the amblygonite-montebrasite mineral series. As such, it is not uncommon for montebrasite to be miss-identified as amblygonite, with both often present in spodumene bearing pegmatites. Amblygonite, and thus effectively montebrasite, have been described extensively in the literature dating back to the early days of the lithium industry where it was one the favoured minerals due to its high lithium content and preferred processing techniques at the time. Although focus has changed to spodumene over time as a more common source mineral, lithium phosphate minerals have a strong history of commercial production and have been mined at various locations around the world, including Canada, Brazil, United States, and various localities in Africa.
Additional beneficiation work, including magnetic separation, heavy liquid separation, as well as further flotation, will be completed on whole rock material collected as part of the upcoming summer field program. The work completed to date has utilized analytical reject material, which has been sufficient for mineralogy and scoping flotation testwork; however, whole rock material is preferred for the Phase II work.
NI 43-101 Disclosure
Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P. Geol., of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
About 92 Resources Corp.
92 Resources Corp. is a modern energy solution company, focused on acquiring and advancing strategic and prospective modern energy related projects. The Company currently holds three principal assets in Canada: the Hidden Lake Lithium Property, NWT, the Pontax Lithium Property, QC, and the Golden Frac Sand Property, BC.
The Hidden Lake Lithium Property is strategically located within the heart of the Yellowknife Pegmatite District with 2016 exploration results returning 1.90% Li2O over 9 m and grab samples up to 3.3% Li2O. The Property is easily road accessible and its proximity to infrastructure provides for numerous development advantages.
The Pontax Property is located within Quebec’s lithium district, and covers several historic pegmatite occurrences that are adjacent to known spodumene bearing pegmatite(s). The underlying geology includes over 20 km strike length of the Pontax Greenstone Belt, which is also a favourable geological environment for gold occurrences.
The Golden Frac Sand Property covers more than a 4 km length of the Mount Wilson Formation, which consists of high purity, white, quartzite and friable sandstones. It’s strategic location in western Canada and proximity to infrastructure, provides competitive access to the oil and gas markets where high-quality frac sand is an essentially input. The adjacent Moberly Silica Sand Mine, owned and operated by Heemskirk Canada Ltd., produces a number of high-purity products and as of February 2017, became subject to a takeover bid by Northern Silica Corporation valued at $42.3 million AUD.
For further information, please contact Adrian Lamoureux, President & CEO at Tel: 778-945-2950, E-mail: adrian@92resources.com or visit www.92resources.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
“ADRIAN LAMOUREUX”
Adrian Lamoureux, President & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Forward Looking Statements:
Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “expects” and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company’s future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.