Piedmont Lithium Project Development Update
April 08 2019 - 6:56PM
Business Wire
- Land position increased by a further
15% to 2,105 acres
- Initial Mineral Resource estimate at
Central property expected in April 2019
- Updated Mineral Resource estimate
for Core property expected in June/July 2019
- Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”)-level
metallurgical testwork ongoing at SGS Lakefield
- Updated Scoping Study based on
updated resource and engineering targeted for July 2019
- Definitive Feasibility Study and
permitting approvals both on-track for year-end 2019
- Company currently evaluating a range
of offtake, financing and strategic alternatives
Piedmont Lithium Limited (“Piedmont” or “Company”) is
pleased to provide an update on the development of the Company’s
100% owned Piedmont Lithium Project (“Project”) in the
Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (“TSB”) in North Carolina,
United States. The Company remains on schedule to update its
Mineral Resource estimate and Scoping Study near mid-year; to
receive required permits and regulatory approvals by year-end; and
to complete a Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) by the
end of 2019.
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Keith D. Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer, said,
“We continue to make good progress in several areas critical to our
strategy, and remain on-track to begin construction in early-2020,
consistent with the schedule we established in late-2017. As the
only conventional lithium project in the USA, we have attracted
considerable strategic interest and have engaged in initial
conversations with parties in the lithium, mining, chemicals,
battery, automotive, and private equity sectors. We plan to appoint
financial and legal advisors in the coming weeks to assist in the
evaluation of strategic and financial plans as we approach a
construction decision.”
Continued Land Acquisition
The Company has recently increased its overall land position by
15% to 2,105 acres. The Company’s Core Property now comprises 1,004
acres, representing an 86% increase from the Core land position
underlying the maiden Mineral Resource estimate.
PFS-Level Metallurgical Testwork Ongoing
Testwork evaluating Dense Medium Separation (“DMS”)
technology remains ongoing at SGS. Preliminary DMS results indicate
the potential to include DMS circuitry in the Piedmont
concentrator’s design. Final results of DMS testwork are expected
in May 2019 and locked-cycle flotation tests will also be
performed. The results of the testwork program will be used to
update the process design from the Scoping Study and to design a
pilot program for later in 2019.
Resource Updates Expected in 2019
Piedmont’s Phase 4 drill campaign continues with three rigs
actively drilling. The Company expects that Phase 4 drilling will
result in an initial Mineral Resource estimate on the Company’s
Central Property in April 2019 and an update to the Mineral
Resource estimate on the Company’s Core Property in June/July
2019.
Technical Studies Underway
Marshall Miller has started mine design, sitewide civil design,
and waste rock stockpile planning for the Project to support permit
activities, Scoping Study update, and future Definitive Feasibility
Study. These studies are expected to continue throughout 2019 with
a planned completion by the end of 2019. Primero Group has
commenced design engineering to a PFS-level of accuracy and is
scheduled to complete a Scoping Study update in July 2019. The
Scoping Study update will integrate updated Mineral Resources,
latest metallurgical testwork, flowsheet optimization and updated
costs.
Engineering work is proceeding at the PFS-level, but we are
eliminating the interim Pre-Feasibility Study from our time-line as
drilling is currently focused on resource and mine life expansion
rather than the infill drilling required to declare reserves.
Following our current drill campaign, we will complete additional
infill drilling in advance of an anticipated year-end DFS.
Permitting Activities Proceeding as Anticipated
The public comment period for the Company’s Section 404 Standard
Individual Permit application to the US Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) concluded in February 2019. Piedmont has received the
comments from USACE and other regulatory agencies and will provide
responses by May 31, 2019. Piedmont is also proceeding with state
and local permit applications. The Company will undertake a series
of community engagement meetings in the coming months and
anticipates applying for a North Carolina state mining permit and
Gaston County conditional zoning in Q3 2019.
The federal and state reviews are both proceeding as expected
and the Company remains confident that the permitting processes
will be successfully concluded by year-end 2019.
Strategic Discussions Initiated
Piedmont has been engaged in numerous preliminary off-take,
financing and strategic conversations over the past several months.
Interested parties are of a global nature, and include companies
from the lithium, mining, chemicals, battery, automotive and
private equity sectors. Piedmont expects to appoint financial and
legal advisors in the coming weeks to assist in the evaluation of
strategic and financing options, but we do not plan to report on
such matters until there is more clarity on the ultimate
outcome.
About Piedmont Lithium
Piedmont Lithium Limited (ASX: PLL; Nasdaq: PLL) holds a 100%
interest in the Piedmont Lithium Project (“Project”) located within
the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (“TSB”) and along trend
to the Hallman Beam and Kings Mountain mines, historically
providing most of the western world’s lithium between the 1950s and
the 1980s. The TSB has been described as one of the largest lithium
provinces in the world and is located approximately 25 miles west
of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is a premier location for
development of an integrated lithium business based on its
favorable geology, proven metallurgy and easy access to
infrastructure, power, R&D centers for lithium and battery
storage, major high-tech population centers and downstream lithium
processing facilities.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190408005847/en/
Keith D. PhillipsPresident & CEOT: +1 973 809 0505E:
kphillips@piedmontlithium.com
Anastasios (Taso) ArimaExecutive DirectorT: +1 347 899
1522E: tarima@piedmontlithium.com
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