Llamara is a greenfield lithium exploration project with a large licence area totalling 344km² located in the Pampa del Tamarugal basin, which is one of the largest basins in the lithium triangle.
The Llamara project is located at an altitude of approximately 1,100m allowing for year-round exploration activities, which complements the Company’s established projects, Laguna Verde and Viento Andino. The Llamara licences cost less than US$100,000 to obtain, and as a greenfield project provides the Company with additional exploration potential.
| Lithium Triangle Basin | Company | Basin Area |
|---|---|---|
| Atacama | SQM / Abarmale | 18,100 |
| Hombre Muerto | Livent | 4,000 |
| Pampa del Tamarugal | CleanTech | 17,150 |
In the area of the licence application, two historical geophysics lines, based on transient electromagnetics (TEM), indicate an extensive deep brine aquifer in the project area, with a thickness of several hundred meters.
Of the two lines that interest the licence area, the profile of Line 45 is provided in the image below. The lowest resistivity band is shown by the light magenta colour scheme representing resistivity of <1.0 Ohm-m- this indicated the brine aquifer has an approximate starting depth of 200m and thickness of 250m, which is open at depth.
The aquifer had not been drilled or measured for lithium, but highly elevated lithium concentrations recorded in surface salt crusts, of up to 3,100ppm Li, and within hectorite clay deposits, of up to 2,400ppm Li, indicating there is a lithium source within the basin and supporting the exploration potential of the sub-surface brine aquifer.
Given the relatively low altitude of 1,100m, the Llamara project area allows for year-round exploration, which complements our more established projects. In the first year, a limited work programme is planned for the project which will involve surface sampling, a geophysics programme and an initial exploration drill hole, with fieldwork to be concentrated in the winter months.
Drainage basin area
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Lithium in surface salt crusts
