Argentina Lithium & Energy expands lithium exploration project at the Salar de Antofalla in Argentina via an option agreement.

Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. has said it is expanding its lithium exploration project at the Salar de Antofalla in Argentina via an option agreement. The company said it has entered into an option agreement with a group of three local vendors to earn a 100% interest in three granted mine concession properties totaling 5,380.5 hectares situated adjacent to the company's 9,000 hectares of 100% held claims. "This acquisition further bolsters our presence in this highly prospective salar. Albemarle Corporation, a major lithium producer, stated that its lithium resource in the southern portion of Salar de Antofalla is expected to be certified as the largest in Argentina," said Nikolaos Cacos, president and CEO of Argentina Lithium & Energy in a statement. READ: Argentina Lithium & Energy appoints John Gammon to board of directors Located in the famed Lithium Triangle, the geological environment at the Salar de Antofalla is similar to other salars in the region where lithium and potash are found, and the project is less than 20 kilometres (km) west of Argentina's largest lithium producing operation at Salar de Hombre Muerto. The Salar is over 130 km long and varies between 5 km and 20 km across, with reported basin depths of more than 500 metres (m). In 2016, Roskill information Services reported that the private mining company Bolland had drilled 56 boreholes over 265 square km in its claim block in the centre of the salar, around 57 km south of the Argentina Lithium Antofalla properties,and reported a resource 2.22mt of lithium (11.8mt LCE) grading 350mg/l and 83mt of potash (KCl) grading 6,400mg/l. This project is now owned by Albemarle Corporation. Work by the vendors on the optioned properties included surface sampling of brines at 14 locations in 2017. Brines were sampled at depths to 4m, over 7 days, and returned lithium anomalies up to 61.1mg/L. On August 24, 2018, Argentina Lithium & Emergy reported the completion of a CSAMT geophysical survey at the project to map deep stratigraphic units and provide additional information on the subsurface in order to delineate drill targets.   The survey identified several potential targets with high conductivity in the first 100m and moderate conductivity at deeper levels. Reconnaissance drill holes were recommended by the consulting geophysicists to determine the cause of the conductive anomalies and to test for lithium-bearing brines. Terms of the option include cash payments totaling US$4 million over 42 months, but limited to only $600,000 in the first 18 months. The option also includes annual exploration expenditure commitments of $500,000 in year one, followed by $1.5 million in year two, $2.0 million in year 3 and $3.0 million in year 4. Argentina Lithium & Energy is focused on acquiring high-quality lithium projects in Argentina, and advancing them towards production in order to meet the growing global demand from the battery sector. The management group has a long history of success in the resource sector of Argentina, and has assembled a first-rate team of experts to acquire and advance the best lithium properties in the world-renowned Lithium Triangle. The company is a member of the Grosso Group, a resource management group that has pioneered exploration in Argentina since 1993. Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com