Jan 13 2021
Alpha Lithium Corporation, an individual owner of one of the last huge, undeveloped salars in Argentina’s Lithium Triangle, reports that it has finished drilling operations on the initial well of its intended six-well drilling program.
Image Credit: Steve Morfi/shutterstock.com
This is a significant first step toward the extraction and processing of brine from Alpha’s wholly-owned 27,500-ha Tolillar Salar. Alpha began drilling the first of a six-well, three-phase drilling program in early December and finished it just before closing for Christmas.
After meeting essential COVID-testing needs, the whole crew has currently returned to the location to start flow-back and clean-out of the wellbore. As soon as this task is completed, the crew and rig will be shifted to the second location of Phase 1.
Given below is an outline of the three-phase drilling plan of the company:
Phase 1: Two shallow wells (below 100 m) have been designed to test and verify geophysical targets on the east and west peripheries of the Tolillar Salar. Management selected to drill these targets initially, as they were completely permissible and drill-ready. The main aim of building these two wells is to verify lithium grades and additionally improve the hydrogeological model of the company.
Phase 2: Two medium-depth wells (between 250 and 400 m) have been designed to test geophysical targets on the Tolillar Salar’s eastern side, and these wells have not been tested earlier, except for a few very shallow lithium tests carried out by the previous salar owners.
The main goal of Phase 2 drilling is to verify lithium grades and production flow rates for the 10 km2 expansion into the southern portion of the salar. After a brief reapplication process for the expired drilling license for such regions, Alpha has been reported that the license has recently been re-granted by the Argentine government.
Phase 3: Two deep wells (above 400 m) have been planned. Management is keen to drill these wells, as the last round of geophysics found a new, thick, and deep horizon in the southern part of the Tolillar Salar.
This deep horizon has been identified to be extremely productive and contains unusually high lithium concentrations on the adjacent Hombre Muerto Salar. The main aim is to determine the chemical, geological, and deliverability properties of this new and high-impact horizon. A license has been applied by Alpha to drill on these two locations and it anticipates obtaining approval in a short time.
Alpha’s 27,500-ha Tolillar Salar, with a length of more than 20 km and a depth of up to 500 m, could potentially host a substantial lithium deposit. The company intends to capitalize on the next generation of Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) methods that have been demonstrated to economically draw lithium at concentrations as low as 100 mg/L. Earlier sampling and drilling at the Tolillar Salar yielded lithium concentrations of up to 504 mg/L.
Even in the midst of COVID, Christmas vacations and New Year’s break, our operations team in Argentina has successfully completed drilling of Alpha’s inaugural wellbore! The crew is back at work and we are almost ready to move the rig to its second location. We are also investigating the availability of a second drilling rig to move quickly and simultaneously onto Phase Two.
Brad Nichol, Chief Executive, Alpha Lithium Corporation
Nichol continued, “While the focus is currently and understandably on drilling, Alpha’s corporate motivation is to commence producing the enormous volumes held within this very large salar. Our recent team additions from Beyond Lithium (see press release November 18, 2020) are already working on unlocking the potential of DLE, which should allow us to process the large volumes contained within the Tolillar Salar.”
Moreover, Alpha is delighted to announce the granting of 1,250,000 stock options to an adviser of the company as full compensation in exchange for corporate consulting services, particularly restricted to European markets. The stock options have a basic price of $0.80, a two-year exercise life and will vest instantly.