Frontier Lithium successfully produces rare 7.2% Li2O "Technical Grade" Spodumene Concentrate with "Life of Mine" sample
Frontier Lithium successfully produces rare
7.2% Li2O "Technical Grade" Spodumene
Concentrate with "Life of Mine" sample
SUDBURY, ON
,
May 4, 2020
/CNW/ - Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX.V: FL) (the "Company" or
"Frontier") is pleased to report positive metallurgical results from the PAK deposit composite sample
of ore, which is a rare, high grade spodumene deposit with low inherent iron, located in the Great
Lakes region of northwestern
Ontario
. The test work was carried out on a 400 kg sample targeting
a mineralogically representative "life of mine" master composite sample. The sample was assembled
with the objective of finalizing flowsheet design and to also confirm with a global user of
concentrates the suitability of the material to meet the most rigorous specifications of the global
lithium market. The metallurgical evaluation was undertaken by XPS Expert Process Solutions
("XPS"), a Glencore company, based in
Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada
.
Technical Grade 7.2% Li2O - Spodumene Concentrate (CNW Group/Frontier Lithium Inc.)
"This significant accomplishment is a critical milestone that greatly de-risks the PAK Lithium Project
and further enhances confidence for our company, partners and prospective customers," said
Trevor
Walker
, President and CEO of Frontier Lithium. "The potential to produce high-quality lithium
concentrates from a deposit in its entirety and not just from select zones is a characteristic
possessed by very few lithium resources around the globe. These results meet expectations from
the global industrial premium glass makers requiring rare technical grade spodumene concentrates.
Results consequently exceed chemical grade concentrate requirements for further refining to
produce chemicals like lithium hydroxide for the lithium-ion battery market. This is a timely
development for Frontier Lithium as North American glass and battery markets are seeking a large,
reliable and regional supply chains."
Dense Media Separation ("DMS") and Flotation Locked-Cycle ("LCT") testing produced a high
quality spodumene concentrate product with an average grade of 7.2% lithium oxide ("Li
2
O"), iron
oxide below 0.15% Fe
2
O
3
, and low impurities from the composite sample. The concentrate
produced compares favorably with the premium concentrate specification guarantees (see Table I)
from the world's rare primary source of technical grade spodumene concentrates, produced from
select zones of the Greenbushes deposit in southwestern
Australia
.
Table I: Results of Dense Media Separation + Locked Cycle Flotation test results (FRON-19)
Chemical Compound
Frontier Lithium
composite sample
average
Albemarle
(i)
SC 7.2 Premium
Albemarle
(i)
SC 7.2 Standard
Li
2
O
7.2 %
min. 7.2 %
max. 7.2 %
Al
2
O
3
24.4 %
min. 25.0 %
min. 25.0 %
SiO
2
64.8 %
min. 62.5 %
max. 62.5 %
Fe
2
O
3
0.135 %
max. 0.12 %
max. 0.17 %
Na
2
O
0.16 %
max. 0.35 %
max. 0.35 %
K
2
O
0.11 %
max. 0.30 %
min. 0.40 %
P
2
O
5
0.05 %
max. 0.25 %
min. 0.35 %
CaO
0.03 %
max. 0.10 %
min. 0.10 %
(i)
reference
https://www.albemarle.com/businesses/lithium/products/product-finder?pinfo=spodumen
The composite sample was prepared by the Company to approximate zonation variability of the
resource with dilution at the average PAK lithium open pit reserve grade of 2.06% Li
2
O as
recommended and defined by the 2018 PAK Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) – 2020 Spark Resource
Estimation, filed on SEDAR
March 23, 2020
by WSP and Nordmin Engineering.
Overall total lithium recovery on the improved flowsheet was seventy-five (75%) at a combined
average grade of 7.0% Li
2
O. This included sixty-seven percent 67% (21% of the ore mass/yield) to
the high-quality 7.2% Li
2
O technical grade spodumene concentrate as outlined in Table I, with the
balance deporting to a lesser 6.2% Li
2
O chemical grade concentrate. Frontier is currently
conducting permitting, engineering and cost estimation for a planned demonstration concentrator;
whereby similar metallurgical results are expected with possible further optimization.
Mr.
Garth Drever
, P.Geo., is the "Qualified Person" for Frontier defined under NI 43-101 and has
reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.
About Frontier Lithium Inc.
Frontier Lithium is a
Sudbury
based, Canadian owned, publicly listed, junior mining company with the
largest land position in an emerging premium lithium mineral district located in the Great Lakes
region of northern
Ontario
. The company is in late-stage exploration, early-stage development phase
with the near-term goal of building a Demonstration concentrator under an advanced exploration
permit. The company's PAK Lithium Project contains
North America's
highest-grade concentration of
rare low-iron, lithium bearing mineral spodumene and is
Ontario's
largest resource with significant
upside potential to increase. Frontier Lithium's current objective is to demonstrate the potential of the
PAK Lithium Deposit to produce up to 2,000 tonnes Lithium Carbonate Equivalent ("LCE") of
premium spodumene concentrates for glass producers and for feedstock to produce lithium
chemicals.
Frontier maintains a tight share structure with management ownership exceeding 30% of the
Company.
About the PAK Lithium Project
The PAK Lithium Project encompasses 26,774 hectares at the south end of
Ontario's
Electric
Avenue, which is the largest land package hosting lithium bearing pegmatites in
Ontario
. The Project
covers 65km of Avenue length and remains largely unexplored; however, since 2013 the company
has delineated two premium spodumene bearing lithium deposits located 2.3 km from each other at
the southwestern end of the project. Recently, Frontier confirmed the presence of spodumene with
the Pennock Lake pegmatite occurrence a further 30km along Frontier's PAK Lithium Project.
The PAK deposit has a mineral reserve in proven and probable category of 5.77 MT averaging
2.06% Li
2
O. The deposit hosts a rare technical/ceramic grade spodumene with low inherent iron
(below 0.1% Fe
2
O
3
). The "2019 Discovery of the year award" winning Spark Deposit has a mineral
resource estimate of 3.2 MT averaging 1.59% Li
2
O in indicated and 12.2 MT averaging 1.36% Li
2
O
in inferred category, as per NI 43-101 Technical Report, "PAK prefeasibility study, Spark resource
estimation" by WSP Canada Inc. and Nordmin Engineering Ltd., updated on
March 23, 2020
.
SOURCE
Frontier Lithium Inc.
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%SEDAR: 00008434E
For further information:
Company Contact Information: Bora Ugurgel, Manager, Investor
Relations, 2736 Belisle Drive Val Caron, ON. P3N 1B3, CANADA, T. +001 705.897.7622, F. +001
705.897.7618
CO: Frontier Lithium Inc.
CNW 16:30e 04-MAY-20