Patagonia (ASX:PL3) quenches high-grade lithium thirst with Argentine brine

Patagonia Lithium packer testing has highlighted a 200-metre stretch of brine with assays surpassing 235 parts per million within a maiden well at its Formentera lithium project in northern Argentina.

The common test for brine deposits also demonstrated a 591ppm lithium reading in a 21m aquifer zone with very low levels of undesired elements.

More easily extracted than hard rock, 100ppm is around the starting point for economic lithium brine.

Patagonia Executive Chairman Phillip Thomas said he was overwhelmed with the superb results to pair with additional similarly alluring brine flows.

“An interval of 200m with lithium values over 235ppm is truly an indication of a world-class project,” Thomas said.

“Brine flow is as important as lithium assay values and we have achieved evidence of both parts of the equation for a prospective successful project.

“The MT geophysics didn’t mislead us, and we have a strong correlation of 0.3 ohm.m with 300-500ppm lithium. I am looking forward to similar results from drill hole JAM 24-02.”

Australian technologist Ekosolve has established itself as a leader in the brine space, and Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Dr Carlos Sorentino agreed the results were very good.

“The chemistry is consistent with the brines we previously processed achieving 92 per cent extraction efficiency and, in some elements, better than the sub-surface sample,” he said.

Ekosolve’s Direct Lithium Extraction pilot plant has also achieved 99.9% purity lithium carbonate from the brines of Formentera, with University of Melbourne Associate Professor Dr Kathryn Mumford noting a high concentration and proven efficient extraction.

The starring 200m interval came from 170m to the drilling’s end at 370m, and Patagonia is likely to take a deeper look given the considerable depths seen in other deposits of the South American lithium triangle.

Results from a second well drilled 500m to the south of the maiden will now be next off the deck for Patagonia, which continues to extend its reach further into the Americas.

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