Oct 12 2012
Western Lithium USA Corporation is pleased to announce that it has successfully submitted the Kings Valley Clay Mine Plan of Operations and Reclamation Permit Application concurrently to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Winnemucca District Office and Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP).
The BLM and NDEP have both acknowledged receipt and have started their review and approval process for the project. Agency approvals are expected in the first quarter of 2014, based on a 16 to 18 month review process that takes into account the extensive baseline surveys that Western Lithium has already performed for the property.
Western Lithium is investigating the establishment of the Kings Valley Clay Project as an open-pit near surface hectorite clay mine with associated facilities. It is envisioned that raw clay will be shipped directly from the mine site to a clay processing facility located in the United States or to an international facility.
"Western Lithium is looking carefully at this strategy as it would generate cash flow from selling our unique specialty hectorite products for deep drilling applications to develop new sources of natural gas and oil," said Western Lithium's CEO, Jay Chmelauskas. "The specialty clay market and other associated products to service this energy sector, have seen double digit growth over the past year, and we expect this trend to continue."
Western Lithium has been developing specialty hectorite clay products over the past year to meet American Petroleum Institute (API) standards for use as a specialty hectorite gelling clay for deep drilling applications. The Company's engineering and permitting team is located in Reno, Nevada, and has extensive operational experience including the successful permitting of dozens of mining projects throughout the State, for both metals and industrial minerals.
Source: http://www.westernlithium.com