Cypress Development Files Resource Estimate FOR Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Nevada
Suite 1610 - 777 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V7Y 1K4
www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com
TSX Venture Exchange Symbol: CYP
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: (604) 687-3376
Facsimile: (604) 687-3119
NEWS RELEASE
June 11, 2018
CYPRESS DEVELOPMENT FILES RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR
CLAYTON VALLEY LITHIUM PROJECT, NEVADA
Vancouver, BC - Cypress Development Corp. (TSX-V: CYP) (OTCQB: CYDVF)
(Frankfurt: C1Z1) (“Cypress” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has filed a
National Instrument (NI) 43 -101 Technical Report on SEDAR titled “ Resource
Estimate Clayton Valley Lithium Project ". The Technical Report details the
independent Mineral Re source Estimate for the Company’s 100% -owned lithium
project in Nevada, as described in the Company’s press release of May 1, 2018.
Global Resource Engineering (GRE) of Denver, Colorado, prepared th e Technical
Report which is the first estimate of resources for Cypress’ property . The report
carries an Effective Date of May 1, 2018 and Issue Date of Jun e 5, 2018. The report
includes recommendations for further work including a Preliminary Economic
Assessment (PEA) which GRE expects to complete in the next two months. Terre A.
Lane, J. Todd Harvey, Hamid Samari, and J. J. Brown of GRE are the Qualified
Persons for the report.
Highlights:
Total Indicated Mineral Resource of 697 million tonnes at an average
grade of 886 ppm Li, or 3.287 million tonnes of lithium carbonate
equivalent (LCE).
Total Inferred Mineral Resource of 643 million tonnes at an average
grade of 852 ppm Li, or 2.916 million tonnes of LCE.
The mineral resources are reported using a cut -off grade of 300 ppm Li
and constrained to pit shell reflecting a $15/tonne operating cost,
$10,000/tonne of LCE price and 80% net recovery to LCE.
Minor changes in the resource model occurred following the May 1, 2018
press release due to adjustments in model boundaries. The proportion of
indicated to inferred tonnes increased somewhat while the net lithium
tonnes in the model decreased slightly.
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The resources are broken down into five units which are distinguished by
stratigraphic position and color (Table 1). The middle three units are
higher grade and estimated to average greater than 950 ppm Li, whereas
the uppermost and lowermost units average less than 700 ppm Li.
GRE generated an initial pit outline capable of supporting several
decades of mining at a production rate of 10,000 to 15,000 tpd (Table 2).
The initial pit contains an indicated resource of 191 million tonnes
averaging 988 ppm Li (1.007 million tonnes LCE), and an inferred
resource of 25 million tonnes at 1,047 ppm Li, (0.142 million tonnes LCE).
Selective mining of higher grade material, i.e. targeting the middle three
units, will be an option considered in the PEA.
Metallurgical bench tests from three drill holes, two of which are within the
initial pit area, indicate agitated tank leaching with sulfuric acid is a viable
method for extracting lithium. Tests indicate leach times of under 8 hours
with relatively low consumptions of acid a nd other reagents. Sulfuric acid
is expected to be the major component in operating costs, and
alternatives for acid supply will be considered in the PEA.
Five to ten drill holes in the initial pit area are recommended by GRE to
convert resources into hig her confidence categories and to obtain
material for further metallurgical testing. This drilling is not required for the
PEA but recommended to advance the project quickly. GRE additionally
recommends proceeding with collecting environmental baseline data, and
conducting hydrogeology and geotechnical studies.
Details of the Mineral Resource Estimate
GRE estimated the Mineral Resource using a database of 23 drill holes for 1,891
metres, drilled by Cypress during 2017 and 2018. The resource was calculated using
a 2.5-dimensional (2.5D) gridded model (common for layered sedimentary deposits)
of six mineralized stratigraphic units , which includes a thin surficial gravel unit, and
verified using a 3 -dimensional (3D) block model. The mineralized intercept s in the
drill holes and a 3D interpretation of the geology and intercepts were done by Terre
Lane and J.J. Brown of GRE, who are Qualified Persons under NI 43-101.
Clayton Valley Lithium Project 3D Drill Hole View:
https://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/site/assets/files/3573/cyp_re_3d_dh_view
.jpg
All samples for the project were assayed at ALS Chemex or Bureau Veritas, both
ISO-9000 certified laboratorie s. The resulting assay intervals were composited for
the entire sedimentary unit for the 2.5D gridded model and were composited to a 5m
down-hole length for the 3D estimate. Grade capping of lithium values was not
required. Model grades were interpolated i n Techbase using an inverse distance
squared algorithm. A tonnage factor of 1.7 tonnes per cubic meter was selected
based upon general published values to represent the insitu density. Indicated
Mineral Resources were defined as being within 300 meters of a drill hole, with the
Inferred mineralization requiring 2 drill holes within a search ellipse of 1500 x 800
metres for each unit. The major axis was orientated north -south along valley. The
sedimentary units were truncated at the Angel Island volcanic pac kage and claim
boundaries.
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The mineral resources reported use a cut -off grade of 300 ppm Li, reflecting a
$15/tonne operating cost for mining, processing and G&A. The costs reflect a 10,000
– 15,000 tonne per day mining operation in soft sedimentary mate rial that does not
require blasting. Cost assumptions for the cut-off grade include a delivered acid cost
of $80/tonne and 100 kg acid per tonne of material processed.
An overall lithium recovery of 80% was employed for the mineral resource based on
the results from laboratory testing and confirmation leach testing at Hazen in Golden,
Colorado under direction of Dr. Todd Harvey, who is Qualified Person in Metallurgy
under NI 43-101 from GRE. The preliminary metallurgical examinations indicate that
the cl aystone responds well to conventional weak acid leaching with no upstream
size reduction required. Initial results indicate that lithium extractions of greater than
80% can be achieved. Expected leach conditions of 2 – 8 hours of leaching with 5%
sulfuric acid at temperatures ranging between 50 and 80 °C are anticipated.
Clayton Valley Lithium Project Leach Kinetics:
https://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/site/assets/files/3573/cyp_re_preliminary_
leach_kinetics-1.jpg
The preliminary leach results indicate relatively high grade pregnant leach solution
(PLS) can be produced containing Li, K, Na and limited deleterious elements and a
conventional downstream lithium recovery circuit should be applicable to produce
saleable lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide.
Clayton Valley Lithium Project Conceptual Production Flowsheet:
https://cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/site/assets/files/3573/cyp_re_conceptual_flows
heets.jpg
GRE concludes Cypress’ Clayton Valley Lithium P roject has the potential to be a
major supplier of lithium products in the world, and additional work is warranted.
Table 1. Indicated and Inferred Resources
Lithology Tonne Grade-ppm Li-kg LCE-kt
Indicated
Upper Tuff 58,700 707 41,500 221
Upper Olive 148,300 897 133,000 708
Main Blue 220,500 1,081 238,400 1,269
Lower Olive 132,200 851 112,500 599
Hard Bottom 136,900 673 92,100 490
Total 696,600 886 617,500 3,287
Inferred
Upper Tuff 65,300 689 45,000 240
Upper Olive 112,400 883 99,300 529
Main Blue 190,700 1,032 196,800 1,048
Lower Olive 149,400 833 124,400 662
Hard Bottom 125,000 657 82,100 437
Total 642,800 852 547,600 2,916
Note: ppm = parts per million, Li = lithium metal, LCE = lithium carbonate equivalent,
kg = kilogram, kt = kilotonne
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Clayton Valley Lithium Project Resource Cross Section:
https://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/site/assets/files/3573/cyp_re_cross_secti
on_2.jpg
Table 2. Resources within Initial Pit Outline
Lithology Tonne Grade-ppm Li-kg LCE-kt
Indicated
Upper Tuff 22,600 686 15,500 83
Upper Olive 37,400 947 35,400 188
Main Blue 88,000 1,169 102,900 548
Lower Olive 24,500 922 22,600 120
Hard Bottom 18,900 672 12,700 68
Total 191,400 988 189,100 1,007
Inferred
Upper Tuff - - - -
Upper Olive 7,200 986 7,100 38
Main Blue 11,200 1,161 13,000 69
Lower Olive 7,000 929 6,500 35
Hard Bottom - - - -
Total 25,400 1,047 26,600 142
Clayton Valley Lithium Project Plan View of Preliminary Pit:
https://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/site/assets/files/3573/cyp_re_plan_view_
of_preliminary_pitsm.jpg
CIM definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. Mineral R esources are not
Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no
certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral
Reserves.
Terre Lane, J.J. Brown , Hamid Samari and Dr. Todd Harvey, of GR E are the
Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43 -101 and have approved of
the technical information in this release.
About Cypress Development Corp.:
Cypress Development Corp. is a publicly traded exploration company focused on
developing the Company's 100%-owned Clayton Valley lithium project in the State of
Nevada, U.S.A.
Cypress' Clayton Valley Lithium Project is located immediately east of Albemarle's
Silver Peak mine, North America's only lithium brine operation. Recent exploration by
Cypress has discovered an extensive deposit of lithium -bearing claystone adjacent
to the brine field. With mineralization tested by drilling over a seven -kilometer trend,
the size of the deposit makes Clayton Valley a premier target that has the potential to
impact the future of lithium production in North America.
Cypress Development Corp. has approx. 60.1 million shares issued and outstanding.
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To find out more about Cypress Development Corp. (TSX-V: CYP), visit our website
at www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com.
CYPRESS DEVELOPMENT CORP.
“Dr. Bill Willoughby”
WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY, PhD., PE
Chief Executive Officer
For further information contact myself or:
Don Myers
Cypress Development Corp.
Director, Corporate Communications
Telephone: 604-639-3851
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: [email protected]
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES
PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE
CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward -looking
statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that
address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward -
looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not
guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially
from those in the forward -looking statements. The Company undertakes no obli gation to
update these forward -looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or
other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those in forward -looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development
successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or
business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for
further information.