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Pastos Grandes
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Pastos Grandes, Bolivia Why a lithium property? In recent years lithium has seen a sharp rise in price because of ever increasing demand for the resource for a myriad of industrial and electronic applications. The most common uses range from lithium-ion batteries in nearly every type of portable electronic device (cell phones laptops, ect), more recently in batteries for electronic/hybrid vehicles to primary aluminum production, solvents, greases, fluxes and glass. Until recently, industrial end use markets consumed the majority of lithium products. However, the market for portable electronic devices has continued to grow so rapidly that the need for the electronics manufacturers to acquire larger volumes of lithium products has increased significantly. This struggle between end use consumers has played a major role in driving prices to unprecedented highs. This increased global demand for lithium has begun to stress the traditional hard-rock mining of pegmatites containing the lithium bearing silicate spudomene. This traditional mining is time, energy and cost intensive. Other types of deposits, such as brines, are quickly being developed to keep up with the demand. Lithium brine resources like Pastos Grandes acquired by New World Resource Corp., are now the preferred method of lithium recovery because of its efficiency and cost effectiveness. These lithium rich brine deposits occur in closed basins in high evaporation environments where lithium will generally occur as a chloride or carbonate along with potassium and boron. Environmentally, lithium recovery from brines is far less taxing then traditional methods of extraction adding to the attractiveness of this method. Lithium production is mostly done by way of concentration, collection, and purification. The brines are pumped to a series of evaporation ponds where the lithium chloride solution is allowed concentrate, soda ash is then added to precipitate a lithium carbonate which is then rid of any impurities, dried and shipped. Using carefully controlled volumes of the required chemical agents, lithium recovery can be a nearly zero-waste mining method, where chemicals are recycled once the lithium is recovered from solution. By-products include saleable compounds such as potash and/or boron. Lithium is not necessarily scarce as it is an abundant mineral in the Earth's crust, but concentrations are generally too low, and extraction too difficult and costly be viable. Litihum brines such as Pastos Grandes and the neighbouring salars in the lithium rich district of Sud Lipez, are quickly gaining attention as extremely cost effective and profitable ventures because of their simplicity and ease of recovery. Introduction The Pastos Grandes Property is located in the Sud Lipez province within the Department of Potosi Bolivia, at an elevation of approximately 4000 metres. Bolivia is known to host the world's largest undeveloped lithium (Li) brine resource. This area in the Altiplano is also home to New World Resource's new prospect, Laguna Pastos Grandes and is part of a series of alkaline-saline lakes and salt crusts known as salars. Salars are composed of brines and salts rich in many minerals including lithium, potassium and boron. The Pastos Grandes property is 125 km2 and covers the entire laguna which is located in a basin surrounded predominantly by mountainous terrain with intermittent rivers and thermal springs that discharge waters into a central lake. The area is accessible via numerous roads, with services available at the nearby town of Uyuni 100 miles to the NE. This town of approximately 10, 600 people is an important transport hub, accessed via a network of packed dirt roads. Geological Setting Laguna Pastos Grandes is one of some 200 alkaline, saline lakes and salars in the area. It covers approximately 125 km2 trending NW-SE, composed of a thick sequence of sediments with a late Miocene pyroclastic basement. Chemical analysis of the brine show that Pastos Grandes fits the Alkaline Type Salar based on the concentrations of (Na-Ca-SO4-Cl), with high concentrations of lithium, boron, and potassium totaling: 1.64g/L Li (0.165%), 945mg/L B, 14.2g/L K (1.42%)  Pastos Grandes as seen from space. Note the central lake and several streams, photo courtesy of NASA click to enlarge Pastos Grandes is one of the larger salars in the Altiplanto. It has been prospected in the recent past for lithium, boron, and potassium which is often found in enriched chloride brines from basins draining felsic to intermediately volcanic rocks. Brines have quickly become an increasingly important source of lithium. The size of other major brine deposits range globally from 200 million to 1.3 billion metric tons with grades ranging from 0.015% to 0.125% lithium. One historic sample from Pastos Grandes yielded 0.165% lithium.  The vast salt flats at Pastos Grandes, photo courtesy of http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/ click to enlarge Lithium is considered to be the 33rd most frequently occurring mineral, however hard rock concentrations are generally too low for economically viable extraction. Historically, the main method by which North American producers, namely FMC and Cyprus Foote recovered lithium carbonate was from mining mineral deposits of spodumene in North Carolina, and from Gwalia Consolidation Mine Ltd., in Australia with typical hardrock mining techniques. However, the cost-effectiveness of brine operations and the added capacity to the industry forced most hard-rock producers to develop their own brine sources or buy raw materials from brine producers. FMC closed its North Carolina mine in 1998, and Cyprus Foote, now Chemetall Foote Corporation, has concentrated on its brine operations. Gwalia Li hard rock mine ceased production in 1999, citing pricing and volume pressures from alternative lithium sources, and halted production while it studied ways to reduce costs. Lithium production from salt brine operations is so much more efficient than hard rock sources even large producers in China and Russia have closed plants and are now importing lithium carbonate from Chilean salars.  A slightly flooded day on the expanse of the Salar de Uyuni, photo courtesy of www.evworld.com click to enlarge The richest lithium source currently being harvested is the Salar de Atacama basin located in the Atacama desert in Chile. Chemetall and SQM both obtain lithium product from its brine. The major trend in the lithium industry has been a transition from hard rock mining-based sources of lithium to brine-based ones. The economics of obtaining lithium carbonate from brine are so favorable that most of the mine-based production has been priced out of the market during the last few years. Since the mid 1970s, lithium prices have seen steady growth as demand from technology and manufacturing industries also grew. Lithium has been in common use since the late 1940s, but has recently experienced a surge in price for its use in lithium ion batteries, fuel efficient vehicles, heat transfer contacts in electronics (cell phones, computers), glass and ceramics production, aluminum hardening in aviation industries and many other industrial applications. Though traded internationally, lithium it is not traded on the public market and is sold directly to end use markets for a negotiated price per ton or pound of (Li, K)Cl or carbonate compounds. This makes price data difficult to confirm but some recent deals have reached $5500USD/ton driven by high demand from end use buyers and relatively low global production. Pastos Grandes has excellent potential for volume production of the lithium rich salt compounds as well as other minerals commonly associated with alkaline type salars. Pastos Grandes Historic Sampling
New World and Pastos Grandes A Letter of Intent has been signed between New World Resources Corp and the underlying claim owner to acquire 99% of the 120km2 of this highly prospective lithium brine property. "Pastos Grandes presents a new exciting opportunity for New World Resources in a country within which we have already established an excellent technical, logistical and legal team. Brines and their associated valuable mineral complexes are an easily extractable and an increasingly in-demand resource." -- John Lando, President |
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