Vision Lithium Provides a Review of 2023 and Discusses Plans for 2024
Vision Lithium Provides a Review of 2023 and
Discusses Plans for 2024
VAL-D'OR, QC
,
Jan. 8, 2024
/CNW/ - Vision Lithium Inc. (TSXV: VLI) (OTCQB: ABEPF) (FSE:
1AJ2) (the "
Company
" or "
Vision Lithium
") is very pleased to report on progress made in 2023 and
discuss upcoming initiatives for 2024.
Sirmac Project
PEA announced in
February 2023
In 2023, the Company released the results of a preliminary economic assessment (a "
PEA
"),
announced
February 21, 2023
, which demonstrated the potential for Vision Lithium to develop the
Sirmac deposit as a Direct Shipping Operation (DSO) with potentially very high returns.
PEA highlights (all results are reported in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise specified):
Pre-tax net present value ("
NPV
") (discount rate 5%) of
C$183.6M
, internal rate of return
("
IRR
") of 839% and payback less than 1 year
After-tax NPV (discount rate 5%) of
C$104.8M
, IRR of 484% and payback less than 1 year
Assumed DSO selling price of
US$591
per tonne (/t) /
C$797
/t based on
US$4,100
/t
concentrate pricing.
4 years of mine life with 321,000t of DSO at 1.33% Li
2
O
Revenue of
C$253.4M
Life of mine capital of
C$3.1M
Operation cost per tonne of DSO at
C$142
The PEA is preliminary in nature. Although 85% of the resources used for the PEA are measured &
indicated, the report does include inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be
categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral
resources that are not mineral reserves have not demonstrated economic viability. Additional work
will be required to convert inferred mineral resources to indicated or measured mineral resources.
The technical report relating to the PEA can be found on the Company's website at
www.visionlithium.com
and under the Company's profile on
SEDAR+
. Readers are encouraged to
read the PEA in its entirety, including all qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that relate to the
details summarized in this news release
February 21, 2023
and the Company's updated news
release
August 10, 2023
. The PEA is intended to be read as a whole, and sections should not be
read or relied upon out of context.
Sirmac Bulk Sample
The Company filed for a 50,000t bulk sample permit with the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Forests (MNRF) of Québec and the Environmental and Social Impact Evaluating Committee
(COMEV) for the territory governed by the
James Bay
and Northern Québec Agreement. At least
three groups have expressed interest in acquiring the ore for the bulk sample for testing purposes.
Vision Lithium has signed multiple letters of interest and intent in this regard. The Company is in
continuing discussions with representatives of the Government of Québec on the bulk sample permit
and hopes to reach a conclusion on the permit application in 2024.
Sirmac Feasibility Study
Looking forward in 2024, Vision Lithium intends to initiate a feasibility study on a mine and possible
concentrator at the Sirmac project. The Company is currently evaluating a number of firms to initiate
the study in 2024. The geological model review is currently underway by Innovexplo of
Val-d'Or
and
is expected to be completed in
January 2024
. A processing trade-off study is expected in Q1 2024
which will help determine the scope of the feasibility study. A baseline environmental study was
awarded to BluMetric Environmental in 2023 and field monitoring and sampling were initiated in the
fall. The baseline program will be split into a combination of terrestrial, aquatics and geochemical
programs. The Environmental Impact Study and Geotechnical work for the feasibility study is also
expected to be awarded in 2024.
Sirmac Exploration
Sirmac consist of 155 claims covering 7,670 hectares of perspective land for lithium exploration.
Multiple LCT pegmatite dikes have been identified on the Western part of the property. These dikes
spread over more than 5 km from the #5 main dike to the Clapier lithium dikes. Stacked dike
systems have been observed at other regional locations (Galaxy,
Lac Rose
, Moblan). A significant
drilling program is planned for 2024 to follow up on numerous targets across the Western portion of
the property and to test a stacked dike theory. The Eastern half of property has heavy overburden
cover and no significant outcrop exposure, a ground exploration program to identify further dikes is
planned for 2024.
Godslith Project
In 2023, the Company met with the Manto Sipi Cree Nation in its community in
Gods River, Manitoba
to discuss project exploration. Multiple representatives from Chief and Council and members of the
community were in attendance along with officials from the Government of
Manitoba
. These
discussions are ongoing. In the fall of 2023, a new provincial government was elected in
Manitoba
.
The Company plans to meet with the new Ministry officials in early 2024 to discuss the Godslith
project. In the meantime, Vision Lithium has received multiple inquiries about the Godslith project
from interested parties and discussions range from joint ventures to potential acquisitions. The
Company continues to evaluate opportunities to monetise or develop this important asset.
Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan
On
February 28, 2023
, shareholders ratified the Company's new omnibus equity incentive plan (the
"
Omnibus Plan
") at the annual general and special meeting of the Company's shareholders (the
"
Meeting
").
The Omnibus Plan is a "rolling up to 10%" Security Based Compensation Plan, as defined in Policy
4.4 –
Security Based Compensation
of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "
TSXV
"), pursuant to which
the number of common shares in the capital of the Company that are issuable upon the exercise of
equity awards granted under the Omnibus Plan (collectively, the "
Awards
") shall not exceed 10% of
the issued and outstanding shares of the Company as at the date of any Award grant, subject to
adjustment as provided in the Omnibus Plan.
The Omnibus Plan was conditionally approved by the TSXV on
January 27, 2023
. It remains subject
to the final acceptance of the TSXV and must be re-approved by shareholders on an annual basis at
the Company's annual meeting of shareholders in accordance with the policies of the TSXV. It
replaces the Company's previous 10% "rolling" incentive stock option plan, originally adopted on
March 22, 2018
, as approved by shareholders on an annual basis and amended from time to time.
The Company's board of directors determined that it would be desirable to have a wider range of
incentive awards, including stock options, restricted share units, performance share units, deferred
share units, and other share-based Awards to attract, retain and motivate employees, directors,
executive officers and consultants of the Company. Subject to compliance with the policies of the
TSXV, all outstanding Options granted under the predecessor incentive stock option plan shall
continue to be outstanding as Awards granted under and subject to the terms of the Omnibus Plan,
provided however that all Options which have been granted under the Stock Option Plan remain in
force in accordance with their existing terms.
The terms and conditions of grants of Awards, including the quantity, type of award, grant date,
vesting conditions, vesting periods, settlement date and other terms and conditions with respect to
these Awards, will be set out in a participant's Award agreement. Impact of certain events upon the
rights of holders of these types of Awards, including termination for cause, resignation, retirement,
termination other than for cause and death or long-term disability, will be set out in the participant's
Award agreement.
For more information, please see the management information circular in respect of the Meeting
dated
January 25, 2023
, which includes a summary of the Omnibus Plan and a copy thereof as
Schedule B, available via the Company's profile on
SEDAR+
.
QA/QC
The database received by Vision Lithium from SGS Geostat in respect of the PEA contained assay
results for 1,747 samples. Added to the total assays, there are 60 standards (3.4% of the samples),
79 duplicates (4.5% of the samples) and 78 blanks (4.5% of the samples). Standards of high- and
low-grade lithium were used with blanks. These results were verified by GoldMinds. Moreover,
analysis of independent samples from Desharnais
et al
. were also verified and there was no bias as
well. GoldMinds took independent samples in the field on channel samples and on new core of
Vision Lithium as well. Results were in line with expected values and have not shown bias. The data
has been verified in its form, grades, interpretation as well as interpolation parameters and
classification and the block model is considered current, as there is no material change in that
aspect. GoldMinds' qualified persons endorse the work done by SGS' qualified persons. The
verifications of GoldMinds allow the disclosure of this study and news release.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this news release relating to the Sirmac project has been reviewed and
approved by
Claude Duplessis
, P.Eng., and
Daniel Dufort
, P.Eng., both of GoldMinds Geoservices
Inc. and qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101.
About Vision Lithium Inc.
Vision Lithium Inc. is a junior exploration company focused on exploring and developing high quality
mineral assets including lithium and copper in
Canada
. The Company is led by skilled and qualified
mineral exploration experts and business professionals with a deep understanding of the battery
materials market, which is driven by lithium-ion batteries. Vision Lithium completed a positive PEA on
its Sirmac lithium project in 2023 and is committed to advancing the project towards production. The
PEA is available on the Company's website at
www.visionlithium.com
and on
SEDAR+.
The
Company is committed to discovering new, world-class assets and bringing these assets to
production, starting with its advanced Sirmac lithium property in Québec and Godslith lithium
property located in
Manitoba
; its greenfield Decelles lithium property in Québec, and a group of base
metal rich Ni-Cu-Co and/or Cu-Zn-Ag-Au properties in Eastern Québec and
New Brunswick
.
For further information on the Company, please visit our website at
www.visionlithium.com
or contact
us at
.
NEITHER THE TSXV NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS
DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSXV) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY
OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: All statements,
other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release including, but not limited to
those describing the impact of the foregoing on the Sirmac Project economics, PEA results (as such
results are set out in the various tables featured above, and are commented in the text of this press
release), including NPV and IRR, the estimated value of the Sirmac Project, operations development
scenarios for the Sirmac Project, commercial and technical parameters, the attractive economics for
the Sirmac Project, life-of-mine plans, market trends, future lithium prices, the impact of the Sirmac
Project on the local communities, including job creation, the timelines and costs related to the various
initiatives, deliverables and milestones described in this news release and their expected results, the
Company's expected financial and operational performance, the nature of relationships with
stakeholders such as the local community including the Mistissini Cree First Nation, mineral resource
estimates (including assumptions and estimates used in preparing the mineral resource estimates),
the general business and operational outlook of the Company, the Company's future growth and
business prospects, the Company's initiatives and goals, and those statements which are discussed
under the "About Vision Lithium Inc." paragraph and elsewhere in the news release which essentially
describe the Company's outlook and objectives, constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-
looking statements" (collectively, "
forward-looking statements
") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities laws, and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the time
of this news release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of
estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of
such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive
uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect.
Moreover, these forward-looking statements were based upon various underlying factors and
assumptions, including the current technological trends, the business relationship between the
Company and its stakeholders, the ability to operate in a safe and effective manner, the timely
delivery and installation at estimated prices of the equipment supporting the production, assumed
sale prices for DSO, the accuracy of any mineral resource estimates, future currency exchange
rates and interest rates, political and regulatory stability, prices of commodity and production costs,
the receipt of governmental, regulatory and third party approvals, licenses and permits on favorable
terms, sustained labor stability, stability in financial and capital markets, availability of equipment and
critical supplies, spare parts and consumables, the various tax assumptions, the Sirmac Project
permits' status, all economic and operational projections relating to the project, local infrastructures,
the Company's business prospects and opportunities and estimates of the operational performance
of the equipment, and are not guarantees of future performance.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.
Risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations
include, among others, delays in the scheduled delivery times of equipment, the ability of the
Company to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and whether such strategic initiatives will
yield the expected benefits, the availability of financing or financing on favorable terms for the
Company, the dependence on commodity prices, the impact of inflation on costs, the risks of
obtaining the necessary permits, the operating performance of the Company's assets and
businesses, competitive factors in the lithium mining and production industry, changes in laws and
regulations affecting the Company's businesses, political and social acceptability risk, environmental
regulation risk, currency and exchange rate risk, technological developments, the impacts of the
global COVID-19 pandemic and the governments' responses thereto, and general economic
conditions, as well as earnings, capital expenditure, cash flow and capital structure risks and general
business risks. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this cautionary statement could
also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements.
Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause,
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-
looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's
expectations and plans relating to the future. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between
subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by
applicable law.
SOURCE
Vision Lithium Inc.
View original content to download multimedia:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2024/08/c7606.html
%SEDAR: 00003760E
For further information:
Victor Cantore, Executive Chairman, Tel: +1-514-831-3809, Email:
[email protected]; Yves Rougerie, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tel: +1-819-
316-0474, Email: [email protected]
CO: Vision Lithium Inc.
CNW 07:00e 08-JAN-24