Standard Lithium Announces Maiden Inferred Resource of 802,000 Tonnes LCE at South-Western Arkansas Tetra Project
STANDARD LITHIUM ANNOUNCES MAIDEN INFERRED RESOURCE OF
802,000 TONNES LCE AT SOUTH-WESTERN ARKANSAS TETRA PROJECT
28th January 2019 – Vancouver, BC – Standard Lithium Ltd.(“Standard Lithium” or the
“Company”) (TSXV: SLL) (OTCQX: STLHF) (FRA: S5L), is pleased to report a maiden lithium
resource statement for its approximately 30,000 acre Project (aka TETRA Project) in the south-
western region of Arkansas, USA (the “Property”; see Company news release dated 8th Jan
2018). The maiden resource report, detailed in Table 1 below, includes 802,000 metric tonnes
of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at the Inferred Resource category (see notes [1], [4] and
[5] below). Combined with Standard Lithium’s other project in Southern Arkansas (Lanxess
Property; see news dated 14 th November 2018), this results in a total combined Arkansas
lithium brine resource of 3,888,000 tonnes LCE.
Robert Mintak, CEO said “This combined project in Southern Arkansas positions us as the
largest lithium brine resource in the US; a significantly expanding market that currently relies on
imports of foreign lithium. ” Dr. Andy Robinson, President and COO of Standard Lithium
continued “Our collaboration with TETRA Technologies was fundamental in allowing Standard
Lithium to gain a meaningful foothold in the south-west Arkansas Project area, and this maiden
resource estimate is validation of the high resource potential we identified in this highly
prospective region. We look forward to tighter definition of this resource and developing its
potential in parallel with the Lanxess property.”
Table 1 – South-Western Arkansas Lithium Brine Project Inferred Resource Statement
Upper Smackover
Formation
Middle Smackover
Formation
Total (and
main
resource)
Parameter
South
Resource
Area
North
Resource
Area
South
Resource
Area
North
Resource
Area
Aquifer Volume (km3) 2.49 3.65 0.60 0.93 7.66
Brine Volume (km3) 0.25 0.36 0.06 0.09 0.76
Average lithium
concentration (mg/L) 399 160 399 160 199
Average Porosity 10.1 % 10.1 % 10.3 % 10.3 % 10.1 %
Total Li resource (as
metal) metric tonnes 78,000 44,000 18,000 11,000 151,000
(see notes [4] & [5]
below)
Total LCE resource
(metric tonnes)
(see notes [4] & [5]
below)
413,000 233,000 98,000 59,000 802,000
Notes:
[1] Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
There is no guarantee that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into a mineral reserve.
[2] Numbers may not add up due to rounding.
[3] The resource estimate was completed and reported using a cut-off of 50 mg/L lithium.
[4] The resource estimate was developed and classified in accordance with guidelines established
by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. The associated Technical Report was completed in
accordance with the Canadian Securities Administration’s National Instrument 43-101 and all associated
documents and amendments. As per these guidelines, the resource was estimated in terms of metallic
(or elemental) lithium.
[5] In order to describe the resource in terms of ‘industry standard’ lithium carbonate equivalent, a
conversion factor of 5.323 was used to convert elemental lithium to LCE.
The TETRA Project lithium brine Inferred Resource, as reported, is contained within the Upper
and Middle facies of the Smackover Formation, a Late Jurassic oolitic limestone aquifer system
that underlies the entire Property. This brine resource is in an area where there is localised oil
and gas production, and where brine is produced as a waste by-product of hydrocarbon
extraction. The data used to estimate and model the resource were gathered from active and
abandoned oil and gas production wells on or adjacent to the Property.
The resource underlies a total of 807 separate brine leases and eight brine mineral deeds which
form a patchwork across Columbia and Lafayette Counties in south-western Arkansas. The
Property consists of 11,033 net hectares (27,262 net acres) leased by TETRA, and the resource
estimate was only modelled for that footprint.
The resource area is split into the northern and southern resource zones, where a fault system
is interpreted to act as a divide between the two areas (although there is hydrogeological
continuity in the resource zone across the fault system). In general, the Upper and Middle
Smackover formations are slightly thinner, with lower lithium grades in the northern zone, and
slightly thicker with higher lithium grades in the southern zone. The depth, shape, thickness and
lateral extent of the Smackover Formation were mapped out in a 3D model using the following
data:
2,444 wells drilled into the subsurface in the general TETRA Property area. Of
these, 2,041 wells were deep enough (2,135 m, or 7,000 feet) to penetrate the
Upper Smackover Formation;
104 wells had electric logs available within the TETRA Property that included the top
of the Upper Smackover Formation;
32 wells had electric logs available within the TETRA Property that included the
base of the Upper Smackover Formation; and,
19 wells had electric logs available within the TETRA Property that included the
base of the Middle Smackover Formation.
In addition, hardcopy prints of 20 proprietary regional seismic lines totaling over 200 line-km
(over 125 line-miles) were procured, scanned, rasterized and loaded into Kingdom® seismic and
geological interpretation software.
The porosity and permeability data used to characterize the Smackover Formation hydrological
model included:
Historical effective porosity measurements of more than 1,935 Smackover Formation
core samples that yielded an average effective porosity of 14.3%;
Historical permeability data that vary from <0.01 to >5,000 millidarcies (mD) with an
average of 338 mD;
515 core plug samples from oil and gas wells within the Upper and Middle Smackover
Formations at the TETRA Property were analysed for permeability and porosity and
yielded an overall average permeability of 53.3 mD and a total porosity of 10.2%; and,
3,194 Smackover Formation total porosity values based on LAS density/porosity logs
from 29 wells within, and/or adjacent to, the TETRA Property that have an average total
porosity of 9.2%.
With respect to the resource estimation, a statistical review of the capped and declustered
effective porosity measurements collected within the Upper and Middle Smackover formations
resulted in average porosity values of 10.1% and 10.3% for the Upper and Middle Smackover
formations, respectively.
Representative in-situ brine geochemistry was assessed using eight lithium brine samples taken
from wells re-entered by Standard Lithium in 2018, and was supplemented by four historical
samples. These data yielded an average lithium grade of 160 mg/L in the northern resource
zone and 399 mg/L in the southern resource zone. Sample quality assurance and quality
control was maintained throughout by use of sample blanks, duplicates and standard ‘spikes’,
and by using an accredited, independent laboratory, with a long history of analysing very high
salinity lithium brines.
Resource Estimation Methodology
The resource estimate was completed by Independent qualified person (QP) Mr. Roy Eccles
M.Sc. P. Geol. of APEX Geoscience Ltd., assisted by other Independent QP’s; Mr. Warren
Black M.Sc. P. Geo. of APEX Geoscience Ltd. (resource modelling), Mr. Kevin Hill B.Sc. P.
Geo. Hill Geophysical Consulting (geology), and Mr. Kaush Rakhit M.Sc. P. Geol. of Canadian
Discovery Ltd (hydrogeology). The resource estimate of the lithium brine at the TETRA
Property is classified as an “Inferred” Mineral Resource and was developed and classified in
accordance with guidelines established by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. The
associated Technical Report was completed in accordance with the Canadian Securities
Administration’s National Instrument 43-101 and all associated documents and amendments.
Quality Assurance
The resource evaluation report was completed by the Independent Qualified Persons as
described above, with Roy Eccles P. Geol. as the lead author. Raymond Spanjers, Registered
Professional Geologist (SME No. 3041730), is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, and
has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for
this news release. Mr. Spanjers is not independent of the Company as he is an officer in his
role as Vice President, Exploration and Development.
Future Target for Exploration
A Future Target for Exploration (FTE) was also developed which considered the additional
resource which may be present if the lease areas were ‘filled-in’ and the total footprint of the
Project were unitised as a brine-production unit in the future; this FTE considered that an
additional 86,000 to 160,000 tonnes LCE may be present under the total Project footprint if
unitisation were applied for and approved. The potential quantity and grade of the FTE is
conceptual in nature. It is uncertain if Standard Lithium will acquire the leases being delineated
as a future target of exploration and it is uncertain if a mineral resource estimate including the
leases in question will ever be delineated.
About Standard Lithium Ltd.
Standard Lithium (TSX: SLL) is a specialty chemical company focused on unlocking the value of
existing large-scale US based lithium-brine resources. The company believes new lithium
production can be brought on stream rapidly by minimizing project risks at selection stage
(resource, political, geographic, regulatory & permitting), and by leveraging advances in lithium
extraction technologies and processes. The Company’s flagship project is located in southern
Arkansas, where it is engaged in the testing and proving of the commercial viability of lithium
extraction from over 150,000 acres of permitted brine operations utilizing the Company’s
proprietary selective extraction technology. The Company is also pursuing the resource
development of over 30,000 acres of separate brine leases located in southwestern Arkansas
and approximately 45,000 acres of mineral leases located in the Mojave Desert in San
Bernardino County, California.
Standard Lithium is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol “SLL”;
quoted on the OTC - Nasdaq Intl Designation under the symbol “STLHF”; and on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange under the symbol “S5L”. Please visit the Company’s website at
www.standardlithium.com.
For further information, contact Anthony Alvaro at (604) 240 4793
On behalf of the Board,
Standard Lithium Ltd.
Robert Mintak, CEO & Director
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