Nickel Rock Reports on Significant Developments at Clayton Valley
Nickel Rock Reports on Significant Developments at Clayton Valley
January 11, 2021: Vancouver, BC, Canada; Nickel Rock Resources Inc. (“the Company”) TSXV:
NICL, OTCQB: NIKLF reports that Albemarle (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals
industry, announced on January 7th, 2021 plans to expand capacity at their lithium production facility
at Silver Peak, Nevada. A portion of Albemarle’s project adjoins 77 placer claims owned 100% by
Nickel Rock Resources Inc. Link to the property location map here: www.nickelrockresources.com
Clayton Valley detail 2020-11-24 image.
Albemarle reported it will begin a program to evaluate clays and other available Nevada resources
for commercial production of lithium. Albemarle said that beginning in 2021, the company plans to
invest $30 million to $50 million to double the current production at the Nevada site by 2025, making
full use of its brine water rights. www.albemarle.com/news/albemarle-announces-expansion-of-
nevada-site-to-increase-domestic-production-of-lithium.
Additionally, in 2021 Albemarle reported it will commence exploration of clay and evaluate
technology that could accelerate the viability of lithium production from clay resources in the region.
"As a leader in the lithium industry, our priority is to optimize our world-class resources and
production. This includes Silver Peak, a site uniquely positioned as the only lithium-producing
resource in the United States," said Eric Norris, Albemarle President, Lithium. "This investment in
domestic capacity shows that we are committed to looking at the many ways in which Silver Peak
can provide domestic support for the growing EV market."
The general structure of the producing area in the north part of the Clayton Valley basin is known
from geophysical surveys and drilling to be a graben structure with its most down-dropped portion
the east-northeast side of the valley (Zampirro, 2004).
A similar graben structure has been identified on the property of Nickel Rock Minerals in the
northwest part of the Clayton Valley basin where the Goat Island graben is inferred from gravity
inversion (Quantec, 2008; Petrick, 2008). The valley is segmented into a northerly trending, one to
km wide subbasin with a distinct escarpment on each side caused by the displacement of a block of
land downward. Recent work by other operators indicates that important deposits of lithium-bearing
claystone are being found in Clayton Valley and this will be the primary target for the proposed
program currently being arranged. Readers are cautioned that the information in this press release
regarding the property of Albemarle is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the
property of interest.
A short distance to the east, Cypress Development owns 100 per cent of the Clayton Valley lithium
projects located immediately east of Albemarle's mine. Exploration and development by Cypress
have discovered a large world-class resource of lithium-bearing claystone adjacent to the brine field.
Here, lithium mineralization occurs within montmorillonite clays throughout the sediments to a
depth of at least 150 metres. Metallurgical testing indicates low-cost processing can be achieved by
leaching with low acid consumption (125 kg/t) and high lithium recovery over 85 per cent Li.
These high extractions prove that the dominant lithium-bearing minerals present are not hectorite,
a refractory clay mineral which requires roasting and/or high acid consumption to liberate the
lithium. www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com 2020-05-19 Clayton pre-feasibility.pdf.
Nickel Rock Resources Inc.
1220 – 789 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1H2
604- 428-5690
www.nickelrockresources.com
2
Testing by other companies on their lithium clay properties, including Lithium Americas (Thacker
Pass project, Nevada), Bacanora Minerals (Sonora project, Mexico), Ioneer (Rhyolite Ridge project,
Nevada) and Cypress Development (Clayton Valley project) have all indicated that economic
extraction of the lithium may well be possible in the not-too-distant future.
Qualified Person
Alan Morris is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the
technical information contained within this news release.
About Nickel Rock Resources Inc. www.nickelrockresources.com
Nickel Rock Resources Inc is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company with a highly focused
effort on exploration for high value battery metals required for the electric vehicle (EV) market. In
addition to our existing Clayton Valley lithium project the Company recently announced several
acquisitions resulting in a significant property package prospective for awaruite, a naturally
occurring nickel-iron alloy important in the manufacture of environmentally efficient batteries for
the electric vehicle markets globally.
Nickel Project
The Mount Sidney Williams Group consists of five claim blocks in four groups with a total area of
6,125.32 hectares in the area surrounding Mount Sidney Williams, both adjoining and in close
proximity to the Decar project of FPX Nickel Corp. (TSXV:FPX), located 100 kilometres northwest
of Fort St. James, B.C., in the Omineca Mining Division. Metallic mineralization includes nickel,
cobalt, and chromium. At least some of the nickel mineralization occurs as awaruite.
The Mitchell Range Group area claim consist of two contiguous claim blocks covering 3,134.70
hectares with demonstrated metallic mineralization including nickel, cobalt, and chromium. Nickel-
cobalt mineralization has not been well explored, but the presence of awaruite has been
documented. The Company is planning detailed exploration for the upcoming exploration season.
The acquisition of the Hard Nickel Group and the Nickel 100 claims are subject to TSX Venture
Exchange approval.
Lithium Project
The Clayton Valley Project is an early-stage lithium brine prospect in Esmeralda County, Nevada. A
total of 77 placer claims covering about 640 ha (1,500 acres) were staked over the western side of
the Clayton Valley playa. The property position covers an inferred graben bounded by the Silver Peak
range front on the west and Goat Island on the east. The exploration concept infers the graben is a
sub-basin of the larger Clayton Valley basin and may represent a secondary trap for both lithium
brines and lithium bearing montmorillonite clays within the greater system.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Robert Setter”
Robert Setter, 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 release. This news release may contain
forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions,
which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address
resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles,
availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guaranteeing future
performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that
could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements.