Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 18, 2023) - Wealth Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: WML) (OTCQB: WMLLF) (SSE: WMLCL) (FSE: EJZN) (the "Company" or "Wealth") announces the Company has signed an agreement with the Indigenous Quechua Community of Ollagüe (Ollagüe Community), setting the terms of cooperation between the two parties as an extension of the original cooperation agreement signed previously (see press release March 28, 2022). Wealth remains committed to respect community rights and traditions and to be open and transparent in all activities regarding the Ollagüe Project.
The two parties have agreed that Wealth may drill up to twelve holes in the Ollagüe salar basin, designed to maximize information to improve and potentially increase the resource estimate for the Ollagüe Project (see press release January 17, 2023). The data collected, including from flow-test wells, will also allow the Company to advance towards a prefeasibility study proceeding from the pending preliminary economic assessment ("PEA"). Wealth management expects the PEA to be completed and announced by the end of Q3-2023.
A fundamental part of the Company's drill program is the minimization of its footprint in the area by using existing roads and having as unobtrusive presence as possible so as to minimize the impact on Ollagüe residents and the surrounding environment. During the course of Wealth's drilling program, the Company will prioritize local service providers for transport, vehicles, food and lodging, as well as contracting Ollagüe Community members to monitor the drilling activities as part of our commitment to transparency and participation. The Company has also committed to advance the Ollagüe Project with an end-goal of using only Direct Lithium Extraction technology ("DLE") and not water-wasteful solar evaporation.
Wealth's CEO Hendrik van Alphen commented, "This agreement with the Quechua Community is yet another significant step in the progression of our Ollagüe Project, including work we are doing in parallel on DLE technology development and testing. The agreement is also a demonstration of our capacity to partner effectively with communities and to continue building trust for the future development of Wealth's operations. I would like to thank again all the leaders of the Indigenous Quechua Community of Ollagüe for their guidance and support in reaching this important agreement, and also to reaffirm that all of our activities during this drilling campaign, and any future development and operation of the lithium project, will minimize any effects on the land and environment. We firmly believe that this agreement with the Quechua Community will be transformed in the future into a stronger and more lasting association as strategic partners to develop this project together."
Ollagüe Project
The Ollagüe Project consists of 8,000 hectares located in northern Chile, Region II. Wealth Minerals announced a maiden lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE") resource estimate for the Ollagüe project, with highlights including an indicated resource of 741,000 tonnes LCE grading 175 mg/l and an inferred resource of 701,000 tonnes LCE grading 185 mg/l. Based on the results of exploration conducted by third parties and the 2022 drilling program completed by Wealth, four tentative hydrogeologic units were defined. These hydrogeologic units have medium to high permeability and are amenable for recovering brine to surface (see NI 43-101 report "Results of Year 2022 Exploration Activities, and Estimated Lithium Resources Ollagüe Project" dated January 13, 2023). Wealth's engineering partner, FLSmidth (see press release of August 9, 2022) is drafting development plans with an exclusive focus on DLE for the Ollagüe Project.
About Wealth Minerals Ltd.
Wealth is a mineral resource company with interests in Canada and Chile. The Company's focus is the acquisition and development of lithium projects in South America.
The Company opportunistically advances battery metal projects where it has a peer advantage in project selection and initial evaluation. Lithium market dynamics and a rapidly increasing metal price are the result of profound structural issues with the industry meeting anticipated future demand. Wealth is positioning itself to be a major beneficiary of this future mismatch of supply and demand. In parallel with lithium market dynamics, Wealth believes other battery metals will benefit from similar industry trends.
不列顛哥倫比亞省溫哥華--(Newsfile Corp. ——2023年7月18日)——Wealth Minerals Ltd.(多倫多證券交易所股票代碼:WMLL)(證券交易所股票代碼:EJZN)(“公司” 或 “財富”)宣佈公司已與奧拉格土著蓋丘亞社區(Ollague Community)簽署協議,規定了兩者之間的合作條款雙方作爲先前簽署的原始合作協議的延伸(見2022年3月28日新聞稿)。Wealth仍然致力於尊重社區的權利和傳統,並在與Ollague項目有關的所有活動中保持開放和透明。
雙方已同意,Wealth可以在Ollague salar盆地鑽多達十二個洞,旨在最大限度地利用信息,改善並可能增加Ollágue項目的資源估算(見2023年1月17日新聞稿)。收集的數據,包括來自流量測試井的數據,也將使公司能夠推進從待定的初步經濟評估(“PEA”)開始的預可行性研究。財富管理預計,PEA 將在 Q3-2023 結束之前完成並公佈。
該公司鑽探計劃的一個基本部分是通過使用現有道路並儘可能保持不顯眼的存在來最大限度地減少其在該地區的佔地面積,從而最大限度地減少對奧拉格居民和周圍環境的影響。在Wealth的鑽探計劃中,公司將優先考慮運輸、車輛、食物和住宿的當地服務提供商,並與Ollague Community成員簽訂合同,以監督鑽探活動,這是我們對透明度和參與的承諾的一部分。該公司還承諾推進Ollague項目,最終目標是僅使用直接鋰提取技術(“DLE”),而不是浪費水的太陽能蒸發。
Wealth首席執行官Hendrik van Alphen評論說:“與蓋丘亞語社區達成的這項協議是我們Ollague項目進展的又一重要步驟,包括我們在DLE技術開發和測試方面同時開展的工作。該協議也表明了我們有能力與社區進行有效合作,並繼續爲Wealth業務的未來發展建立信任。我要再次感謝奧拉蓋土著蓋丘亞社區的所有領導人在達成這項重要協議方面給予的指導和支持,並重申,我們在這次鑽探活動中的所有活動以及鋰項目未來的任何開發和運營,都將最大限度地減少對土地和環境的影響。我們堅信,與蓋丘亞語社區的這項協議將來將轉變爲一個更強大、更持久的聯盟,成爲共同開發該項目的戰略合作伙伴。”
Ollague 項目
Ollague 項目佔地 8,000 公頃,位於智利北部的第二區。Wealth Minerals宣佈了Ollague項目的首次碳酸鋰當量(“LCE”)資源估算,亮點包括74.1萬噸LCE等級爲175 mg/l的指示資源和701,000噸的LCE等級爲185 mg/l的推斷資源。根據第三方的勘探結果和Wealth完成的2022年鑽探計劃,定義了四個暫定的水文地質單元。這些水文地質單元的滲透率爲中到高,適合將鹽水回收到地表(見2023年1月13日NI 43-101報告 “2022年勘探活動結果和估計的鋰資源Ollague項目”)。Wealth的工程合作伙伴Flsmidth(見2022年8月9日的新聞稿)正在起草開發計劃,其中專門關注Ollágue項目的DLE。
關於Wealth Minerals Ltd.
Wealth是一家礦產資源公司,在加拿大和智利擁有權益。該公司的重點是收購和開發南美的鋰項目。
該公司機會主義地推進電池金屬項目,在項目選擇和初步評估方面具有同行優勢。鋰市場動態和金屬價格的快速上漲是該行業滿足預期未來需求的深刻結構性問題的結果。財富將自己定位爲未來供需不匹配的主要受益者。在鋰市場動態的同時,Wealth認爲,其他電池金屬將受益於類似的行業趨勢。