Alberta-based lithium technology and resource company E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) is continuing to advance its global lithium resource in Alberta, including breaking ground on its first well and entering into a strategic agreement with Imperial Oil, one of the world’s largest oil producers. Now, the company has significantly expanded the size of its already impressive lithium resource.
E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF), which is now trading under the new symbol ETL on the TSX Venture Exchange, just announced it has increased its Inferred Mineral Resources to 23.4 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) contained in the new Bashaw District. The Bashaw District combines and extends the Clearwater Resource and Exshaw Resource areas into a consolidated resource that contains an estimated total of 59 billion cubic meters (59 cubic kilometers) of brine formation water at an average grade of 74.5 milligram/litre lithium.
“This increase clearly establishes E3 Lithium, and the Leduc Aquifer in this region, as being a globally-significant source of lithium” said E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) CEO Chris Doornbos. “With the combination of the Resource, and the Company’s ion-exchange direct extraction technology, E3 continues to lead Alberta on the path to becoming a major lithium producing jurisdiction.”
The increase in the resource is the result of significant work by E3 Lithium‘s (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) team to improve and expand the company’s understanding of the highly saline Leduc Aquifer in the Bashaw District.
The work included extensive reviews and analyses of the available core samples, the addition of hundreds of digital wireframe logs, 2D seismic data, additional brine sampling results, and an updated interpretation of the Leduc. This work has provided E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) with a better understanding of viable recovery methods and improved the company’s confidence in resource volumes.
E3 Lithium Launches its First Successful Battery
On June 29, lithium from E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) was used to create a successful battery through a collaboration with Pure Lithium. Pure Lithium used lithium produced from E3‘s proprietary DLE technology to create lithium metal to produce a pocket battery. Given the success of lithium metal production under the initial test program, the two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The goal of this MOU is to complete a series of tests over the next six to nine months to define how technologies from E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) and Pure Lithium can be combined to produce a commercially viable production process for lithium metal electrodes and batteries.
E3 Lithium‘s (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) goal is to ensure that it has a diverse product offering to meet the growth and evolution of the lithium battery and electric vehicle market. While the strong market for cathodic high nickel batteries likely means the first phase of E3’s production will be lithium hydroxide, the company believes lithium metal will be a key component of the next generation of lithium batteries.
On June 23, E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) announced a monumental strategic agreement with one of the world’s largest oil companies, Imperial Oil, to advance a pilot lithium project in Alberta. The company is exploring the redevelopment of a historic oilfield into a potential new source of lithium for Canada’s growing critical minerals industry.
The pilot project will support E3 Lithium‘s (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) Clearwater Project, which will draw lithium from under the Leduc Oilfield, Imperial’s landmark discovery that was the first to launch major oil and gas developments in Western Canada. The company’s proprietary technology is designed to extract the critical mineral from lithium-rich brine, with potential for commercial development of battery-grade products.
The pilot project includes the drilling of the first lithium appraisal wells in Alberta, which is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year. Work will also focus on scaling up E3 Lithium‘s (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) proprietary technology, which brings liquid brine to the surface where the lithium is removed and concentrated.
E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF) will remain the operator of the Clearwater Project and retain its intellectual property (IP), with technical and development support from Imperial Oil in areas such as water and reservoir management.
SOURCE: E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL)
