NEW YORK – Piedmont Lithium Limited (ASX: PLL; NASDAQ: PLL) (“Piedmont” or
“Company”) is pleased to present its March 2019 quarterly report.
Highlights during and subsequent to the quarter were:
-
Continued the 25,000-meter Phase 4 drill program, with three drill
rigs active on the Core property, where a total of 69 holes have been
completed to-date. An additional 15 holes have been completed on the
Central property, including the Project’s best hole to date: 43.2m
@ 1.73% Li2O.
-
Increased overall land position of the Project by 52% to 2,105 acres.
The Company’s Core property now comprises 1,004 acres, representing an
86% increase from the Core property land position underlying the
maiden Mineral Resource estimate.
-
Completed an initial Mineral Resource estimate for the Central
property, located approximately one mile south of the Core property,
increasing the Project’s total Mineral Resources to 19.0 million
tonnes (“Mt”) at 1.15% Li2O.
-
Submitted key permit applications for the Project, including a Section
404 Standard Individual Permit application to the US Army Corps of
Engineers (“USACE”) and a Section 401 Individual Water Quality
Certification to the North Carolina Division of Water Resources
(“NCDWR”).
-
Commenced the next level of metallurgical test work, including the
evaluation of Dense Medium Separation (“DMS”) technology. Preliminary
DMS results indicate the potential to include DMS circuitry in the
Piedmont concentrator’s design.
-
Commenced engineering work for a planned updated Scoping Study to
integrate updated Mineral Resources, latest metallurgical testwork,
flowsheet optimization and updated costs. Engineering work is
proceeding at a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) level.
-
Engaged in numerous preliminary off-take, financing and strategic
conversations, including companies from the lithium, mining,
chemicals, battery, automotive and private equity sectors.
Next steps:
-
Phase 4 drill program results will provide the basis for an updated
Mineral Resource estimate scheduled for June, which is expected to
extend the mine life for the Project.
-
Complete metallurgical studies, including evaluating the potential for
a DMS before the flotation circuit, to further enhance operating costs
in the concentrator.
-
Complete an updated Scoping Study based on updated Mineral Resources,
latest metallurgical testwork, flowsheet optimization and updated
costs.
-
Complete permit applications and secure the necessary permits and
approvals to commence mining and processing operations at the Project;
and
-
Continue expansion of the Company’s land position in the Carolina
Tin-Spodumene Belt (“TSB”) with a focus on areas of high mineral
prospectivity.
The entire report is available on the announcement page of the Company’s
website at https://ir.piedmontlithium.com/asx-announcements.
For further information, contact:
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement may include forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based on the Company’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 the Company, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from such statements. The Company 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 Project’s Core Property 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
Central Property Mineral Resource of 2.80Mt @ 1.34% Li2O
comprises Indicated Mineral Resources of 1.41Mt @ 1.38% Li2O
and 1.39Mt @ 1.29% Li2O.
The information contained in this presentation 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 Statements
The information in this presentation that relates to Exploration Results
is extracted from the Company’s ASX announcements dated March 14, 2019,
February 13, 2019, October 17, 2018, August 23, 2018, July 19, 2018,
June 14, 2018, June 7, 2018, May 17, 2018, May 10, 2018, April 9, 2018,
4 April 2018, 15 March 2018, 1 December 2017, 2 November 2017, 27
September 2017, 23 May 2017, 3 April 2017, and 18 October 2016 which are
available to view on the Company’s website at www.piedmontlithium.com.
The information in this presentation that relates to Exploration Targets
and Mineral Resources is extracted from the Company’s ASX announcements
dated June 14, 2018 and April 24, 2019 which are available to view on
the Company’s website at www.piedmontlithium.com.
The information in this presentation 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 presentation 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 presentation 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 announcement.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190429005894/en/
Keith D. Phillips
President & CEO
T: +1 973 809 0505
E:
keith@piedmontlithium.com
Anastasios
(Taso) Arima
Executive Director
T: +1 347 899 1522
E: taso@piedmontlithium.com