Salmueras Diversas:

Cómo Calificar Proyectos de Litio

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Overview of Presentation
G e o lo g y

1. Overview: Why is this important?

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2. Geology
3. Chemistry
H yd ro lo g y

4. Hydrology
5. Infrastructure & Natural Features
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6. Common Errors
7. Conclusion
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¡Compórtate Bien!
G e o lo g y

• Brines are dynamic

• they move around below the surface of the earth
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• % Lithium is not enough

• Defining a resource is more than measuring the contained lithium
– an exploration company must develop an understanding of
H yd ro lo g y

how the resource behaves

• To assess a brine project, one must consider

In fra s tru c tu re

ü Geology ü Chemistry
ü Hydrology ü Infrastructure
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• Finally, one must weed out meaningless metrics ! !

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 Boundary conditions
Aquifer geom etry
Let’s talk volume – how big is it?

Aquifer type
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Lithology – Clastic vs. Halite

G e o lo g y

Immature & Clastic:

sedimentary rocks with grain
size that varies from
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gravel/sand to silt and clay

Mature & Halite:

dominated by evaporites
H yd ro lo g y
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Porosity: how much liquid can get out?

G e o lo g y

Total Porosity (Pt) The volume of pores in the aquifer

Effective porosity (Pe) Interconnected pores that may be drained
Specific Yield (Sy) The portion of Pe that may be drained under gravity
Specific Retention (Sr)
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The portion of fluit retained by host material

Pt > Pe
H yd ro lo g y

Pe = Sy + Sr
Relationship between S y and S r
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depends on grain diam eter

Concentration is independent
of fluid density

Brine Grade incorporates the S y

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of the m aterial

Porosity decreases at depth

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Assays: Lithium Content

G e o lo g y

Lithium salts are highly soluble and

tend to stay in solution until lithium
concentrations approach and
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exceed 6000 ppm, 6%, or 6 mg/L

Initial concentration and

hydrometeorological parameters
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(weather) determine how many

hectares of evaporation ponds
required, and time in pond
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Lithium content varies at different

depths and across the salar. It is
essential to understand how the
aquifer behaves to extrapolate
meaning from lithium content.
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Saltwork Consultants
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Assays: What else is in my brine?

G e o lo g y

• Li, K, Mg, B; SO4, CO3

• Key Chemical Ratios:

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• Mg/Li < 10; higher complicates

extraction
• SO 4/Li < 30
• B/Li < 3
H yd ro lo g y

Janecke Diagram via Lithium Americas

Representative, comparable, reproducible
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Via Saltwork Consultants

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Electrochemistry & Hydrochemistry

G e o lo g y

• Electrochemistry
• Transmissivity and Hydraulic Conductivity
• Changes in groundwater salinity
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• Hydrochemistry
• Density • Temperature
• pH • Total Dissolved Solids
H yd ro lo g y
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Hydrology: modeling is critical

G e o lo g y

• Hydrology is critical to understand and adapt to new information

• The asset will change over the life of the project

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• Dilution – presence of fresh vs. brackish water

• Predict extracted brine volume over time and Li grade evolution as

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inflow occurs (mineral stability)

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SRK Consulting
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Hydrometeorological Parameters
(aka weather ☀)
G e o lo g y

Evaporation Rates (mm evaporation)

Precipitation Rates (mm rainfall)
Temperature
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Wind

This information can’t just cut and

paste from a project “nearby”
H yd ro lo g y

Orocobre 2011
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Orocobre 2011
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Infrastructure & Natural Features

G e o lo g y

• Gas pipeline
• Diesel Generators (rented or purchased, contracts for fuel)
• Existing power lines
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• Newly constructed power lines

• Renewable (solar) capacity
• Existing roads
H yd ro lo g y

• Roads to be built
• Transportation machinery
• Future railway infrastructure
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• Existing and future roads

• Trucks
• Existing railway
• Future railway
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• Port access
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Infrastructure & Natural Features

G e o lo g y

• Where will the electricity (and water) come from?

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• How will machinery and people access the site?

H yd ro lo g y
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• How will the product get to market?

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Infrastructure & Natural Features

G e o lo g y

• Where will the electricity (and water) come from?

• Gas pipeline
• Diesel Generators (rented or purchased, contracts for fuel)
C h e m is try

• Existing power lines

• Newly constructed power lines
• Renewable (solar) capacity
• How will machinery and people access the site?
• Existing roads
H yd ro lo g y

• Roads to be built
• Transportation machinery
• Future railway infrastructure
In fra s tru c tu re

• How will the product get to market?

• Existing and future roads
• Trucks
• Existing railway
• Future railway
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• Port access
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Beware Meaningless Metrics!

G e o lo g y

*PROXIMITY TO THE GIGAFACTORY DOES NOT MATTER*

CALLING A LOCATION “STRATEGIC” DOES NOT MAKE IT SO

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Relative proximity to other projects

should not be the major “selling point”
H yd ro lo g y

of an asset unless there is sufficient

geological evidence that it will
demonstrate similar properties
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Total surface area of claims without a

map is meaningless and misleading

Location on the perimeter of a salar

should raise an eyebrow
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 Putting it together
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“Me cae bien este salar”

G e o lo g y

• Argentina differs from neighboring Chile in that it is home to

diverse brine resources
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• Identify three broad categories of information

1. Important and relevant information - Keep
2. Superfluous and unnecessary filler - Discard
H yd ro lo g y

3. Information that should be there but is missing - Find

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• “Take good care of your hydrogeologist, you will thank him

[or her] later” SRK
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Thank You, Gracias, & Questions

G e o lo g y
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Thanks to SRK, Hydrominex, Montgomery &

Associates, Quantec, Dr. Rodolfo Garcia, Lithium
Americas, Orocobre, Galaxy Argentina and the
H yd ro lo g y

many other technical experts who tolerate my

hours of science questions J
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 • Edit Master text styles

• Fifth level
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