Pure Energy hits lithium brines in Clayton Valley drill campaign

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian lithium explorer Pure Energy Minerals plans to collect new brine samples for lithium analysis and integrate that data into its existing inferred lithium brine resource through its current drill programme at the Clayton Valley South (CVS) project, in Nevada.

The Vancouver-based public company has collared a second drill hole – CV-7 – on the CVS project and ancillary works are in place to immediately start rotary coring of the basin-fill sediments, the company announced Thursday.

CEO Patrick Highsmith noted that the best way to grow a lithium brine resource is to identify quality targets and keep drilling. “We are excited to see the results of CV-7 as we are targeting high-quality geophysical and geological targets just south of our best drill hole to date, CV-3.”

CV-7 is located about 1.75 km south-west of the recently drilled CV-3 well.

Highsmith added that Pure Energy also expects to collar CV-8 in the “very near future” as it winds down the Phase 3 drill programme.

Pure Energy has set itself the target of becoming the lowest-cost lithium supplier for the burgeoning North American lithium battery industry. At the CVS project, the company is located next to the only producing lithium operation in the US – Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium brine mine.

The project boasts an inferred mineral resource of 816 000 metric tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.

Pure Energy is also undertaking metallurgical and process studies to better understand the feasibility and economics of using modern environmentally responsible processing technology to convert the CVS brines into high-purity lithium products for new energy storage uses.

The Clayton Valley has been host to a claim-staking rush over the past few years, as it became apparent that a lithium supply gap was emerging; however, few companies have undertaken any exploration work in pursuit of growing compliant resources and reserves.