Piedmont Lithium: Updated Scoping Study Extends Project Life and Enhances Exceptional Economics

NEW YORK – Piedmont Lithium Limited (“Piedmont” or “Company”) is pleased to report the results of the updated Scoping Study for its vertically integrated lithium hydroxide chemical project located in North Carolina, USA. The Scoping Study includes a steady-state 22,700 tonnes per year (“t/y“) lithium hydroxide (“LiOH“) Chemical Plant supported by a Mine/Concentrator producing 160,000t/y of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate. By-products quartz, feldspar, and mica will provide credits to the cost of lithium production.

This updated Scoping Study incorporates the expanded Mineral Resource update published in June 2019 which has extended the overall project life to 25 years. The Scoping Study features:

  • Integrated project to produce 22,700t/y of LiOH
  • 25-year project life with 2 years of concentrate-only sales and 23 years of integrated operations
    • More than 100% increase in life-of-project LiOH production compared with prior studies
  • 1st quartile operating costs
    • Lithium hydroxide cash costs of US$3,105/t (AISC of US$3,565/t)
    • Spodumene concentrate cash costs of US$199/t (AISC of US$238/t)
  • Exceptional project economics
    • NPV8% of US$1.45B
    • After-tax IRR of 34%
    • Steady-state annual average EBITDA of US$298M
  • Mine/Concentrator engineering and metallurgical testwork completed to PFS-level
  • Conventional technology selection in all project aspects

Keith D. Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer, said:

“We are very pleased with the results of the updated Scoping Study, which reflect the benefits of a 25-year mine life, a refined concentrator flow sheet and PFS-level engineering and metallurgy. The economic benefit of developing an integrated lithium chemical business in North Carolina, USA is clear, driven by the exceptional infrastructure and human resource advantages of our location, as well as the competitive royalty and tax regime offered in the United States.

“Recent corporate transactions (i.e. Wesfarmers/Kidman and Albemarle/Wodgina) have reinforced the wisdom of the Company’s integrated business strategy. We will continue to progress our Mine/Concentrator through the permitting and feasibility processes, but we will now redouble our efforts on the strategic front by accelerating our lithium hydroxide testwork and intensifying the initial strategic discussions we have had with a broad array of potential strategic, offtake and financial partners.”

To view the full ASX Announcement, click here.

Keith D. Phillips


President & CEO

+1 973 809 0505

kphillips@piedmontlithium.com

Anastasios (Taso) Arima


Executive Director

+1 347 899 1522

tarima@piedmontlithium.com


Piedmont Lithium Upcoming Conference Participation

NEW YORK –
Piedmont Lithium Limited (Nasdaq:PLL; ASX:PLL) is pleased to announce that it will be participating in the following upcoming conferences:

Event:

Canaccord Genuity – The Future of Transport Conference

Date:

August 6, 2019

Location:

Boston, Massachusetts

 

 

Event:

Jefferies – Global Industrials Conference

Date:

August 7 – 8, 2019

Location:

New York, New York

 

 

Event:

9th Annual Gateway Conference

Date:

September 4 – 5, 2019

Location:

San Francisco, California

About Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium Limited (ASX: PLL; Nasdaq: PLL) holds a 100% interest in the Piedmont Lithium Project located within the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (“TSB”) and along trend to the Hallman Beam and Kings Mountain mines, which historically provided most of the western world’s lithium between the 1950s and the 1980s. The TSB has been described as one of the largest lithium regions in the world and is located approximately 25 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina.

In September 2018 the Company published a Scoping Study for an integrated lithium hydroxide business based on a maiden Mineral Resource estimate of 16.2 million tonnes (“Mt”) grading at 1.12% Li2O which featured a 13-year project life, NPV8 of US$888 million, a US$3,112 per tonne lithium hydroxide operating cost, and a US$193 per tonne spodumene concentrate operating cost.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Piedmont’s expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Piedmont, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Piedmont makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this announcement, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of that announcement.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources

The information contained in this announcement has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Australia, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. The terms “mineral resource”, “measured mineral resource”, “indicated mineral resource” and “inferred mineral resource” are Australian terms defined in accordance with the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the “JORC Code”). However, these terms are not defined in Industry Guide 7 (“SEC Industry Guide 7”) under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), and are normally not permitted to be used in reports and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, information contained herein that describes Piedmont’s mineral deposits may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to reporting and disclosure requirements under the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in Piedmont’s Form 20-F, a copy of which may be obtained from Piedmont or from the EDGAR system on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov/.

Competent Persons Statement

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on, and fairly represents, information compiled or reviewed by Mr. Lamont Leatherman, a Competent Person who is a Registered Member of the ‘Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration’, a ‘Recognized Professional Organization’ (RPO). Mr. Leatherman is a consultant to the Company. Mr. Leatherman has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr. Leatherman consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

The Project’s Mineral Resource of 16.2Mt @ 1.12% Li2O comprises Indicated Mineral Resources of 8.5Mt @ 1.15% Li2O and Inferred Mineral Resources of 7.7Mt @ 1.09% Li2O. The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Targets and Mineral Resources is extracted from the Company’s ASX announcement dated June 14, 2018 which is available to view on the Company’s website at www.piedmontlithium.com. The information in this announcement that relates to Metallurgical Testwork Results is extracted from the Company’s ASX announcements dated September 4, 2018 and July 17, 2018 which are available to view on the Company’s website at www.piedmontlithium.com. The information in this announcement that relates to Process Design, Process Plant Capital Costs, and Process Plant Operating Costs is extracted from the Company’s ASX announcements dated September 13, 2018 and July 19, 2018 which are available to view on the Company’s website at www.piedmontlithium.com. The information in this announcement that relates to Mining Engineering and Mine Schedule is extracted from the Company’s ASX announcements dated September 13, 2018 and July 19, 2018 which are available to view on the Company’s website at www.piedmontlithium.com.

Piedmont confirms that: a) it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original ASX announcements; b) all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning Mineral Resources, Exploration Targets, Production Targets, and related forecast financial information derived from Production Targets included in the original ASX announcements continue to apply and have not materially changed; and c) the form and context in which the relevant Competent Persons’ findings are presented in this report have not been materially modified from the original ASX announcements.

Investors interested in meeting with Piedmont at or around these events should contact:

Keith D. Phillips

President & CEO

T: +1 973 809 0505

E: kphillips@piedmontlithium.com

Anastasios (Taso) Arima

Executive Director

T: +1 347 899 1522

E: tarima@piedmontlithium.com


Piedmont Lithium Announces Significant Increase in By-Product Mineral Resources

NEW YORK – Piedmont Lithium Limited (“Piedmont” or “Company”) is pleased to announce updated Mineral Resource estimates for mineral by-products quartz, feldspar and mica from spodumene bearing pegmatites on the Company’s wholly-owned Core property located within the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (“TSB”) in North Carolina, USA (refer Table 1). This is an update to the initial by-product Mineral Resource estimate reported in September 2018.

By-Product Mineral Resource estimates were based on normative mineralogy compositions from 326 drill holes previously analyzed for lithium. The resource details for quartz, feldspar and mica are shown in Table 1. The Mineral Resource estimates have been prepared by independent consultants, CSA Global Pty Ltd (“CSA Global”) and are reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition).

 

Table 1: Mineral Resource Estimates for By-Products – Piedmont Lithium Project

Category

Tonnes

(Mt)

Quartz

Feldspar

Mica

Grade

(%)

Tonnes (Mt)

Grade

(%)

Tonnes (Mt)

Grade

(%)

Tonnes (Mt)

Indicated

12.5

30.0

3.75

44.4

5.55

4.5

0.56

Inferred

12.6

28.7

3.61

44.4

5.58

4.4

0.56

Total

25.1

29.3

7.36

44.4

11.13

4.5

1.12

 

In June 2019, the Company reported an updated lithium Mineral Resource for the Core property of 25.1 million tonnes (“Mt”) at a grade of @ 1.09% Li2O. The by-products and lithium Mineral Resource estimates utilize the same geologic model. Piedmont is now updating the Project’s Scoping Study which will include the updated by-product resources and the June 2019 lithium resource.

Keith D. Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The historic lithium mines in the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt generated a material portion of their economics from the sale of by-product minerals quartz, feldspar and mica to the large, local southeastern US industrial markets. These markets have continued to grow, and are currently served in part by high-cost imported material. We expect by-products to represent a significant – and unique – opportunity for Piedmont, and I would note that in our Scoping Study dated September 12, 2018 the by-product credits effectively reduced our cash production costs of lithium hydroxide by more than $750/t, and we expect a similar impact in our study update due next week.

To view the full ASX Announcement, click here.

Keith D. Phillips | President & CEO

T: +1 973 809 0505

E: kphillips@piedmontlithium.com

Anastasios (Taso) Arima |Executive Director

T: +1 347 899 1522

E: tarima@piedmontlithium.com