Surface sampling conducted by the previous owner of the project returned relatively high average grades of 2750 ppm lithium (0.275%) and 10,000 ppm boron (1%). The initial work to be undertaken on the project by the Company will be to identify and sample previous exploration troughs.
Stated Hugh Aird, American Lithium Minerals CEO, "It is our intention to rapidly advance this project; we are excited to set in motion the process of proving what we believe is a world class lithium and boron asset."
The Borate Hills Project consists of the North and South Borate Hills Projects. The boron and lithium mineralization is contained in a strata-bound formation that is a combination of a claystone unit and a volcanic tuff with no clay.
In the early 1980s, a prior owner of the property, US Borax, drilled the North Borate Hills Deposit and thereafter publicly stated the project was the second largest boron deposit in the United States after their current producing borate mine, Kramer Borate in California.
Subsequently, US Borax discovered the South Borate Hills Deposit in 1986 and publicly stated that they had identified a larger deposit with higher lithium values and a strike length of 1.5 miles with thicknesses of up to 1300 feet.
The Company does not have the data from the exploration conducted by US Borax so exploration work will have to be completed by the Company to corroborate those public statements. There has been insufficient additional exploration to date to define a mineral resource and there can be no certainty that further exploration by the Company will result in the delineation of a mineral resource.
The Company recently announced that Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) have agreed to invest up to US $4,000,000 in the Borate Hills Project over a 3 year period.
Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) was established on February 29, 2004 pursuant to the Law Concerning the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, which was promulgated on July 26, 2002. JOGMEC integrates the functions of the former Japan National Oil Corporation, which was in charge of securing a stable supply of oil and natural gas, and the former Metal Mining Agency of Japan, which was in charge of ensuring a stable supply of nonferrous metal and mineral resources and implementing mine pollution control measures.
American Lithium is a U.S.-based mineral exploration company focused on the development of lithium and boron resources in Nevada. The company’s key objective is to develop world-class lithium projects that will capitalize on surging demand for lithium-ion batteries, particularly for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Lithium is a high-priority and strategic mineral for the U.S. The country’s green energy legislation and long-term energy policies depend on developing a vibrant, domestic lithium-ion battery manufacturing sector.
The Borate Hills Project is the Company’s current primary focus, however it is also active in grassroots exploration for lithium deposits in the Great Basin of the United States with ten other highly prospective projects in Nevada and Utah.
Lithium is used for batteries, specialty glass, lubricants, pharmaceuticals and lithium alloys. Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries have become the rechargeable battery of choice in cell phones, computers, hybrid-electric cars and electric cars, with the worldwide market for lithium batteries estimated at over $4 billion per year.
Demand for lithium carbonate is expected to increase four-fold over the next decade as demand for of lithium-ion battery-powered hybrid-electric and electric cars rises. GM, Ford, Toyota, Dodge, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Tesla, Saturn and Mercedes-Benz have all announced plans to build Li-ion battery-powered cars and the demand for such vehicles is currently expected to increase five-fold by 2012.
There is currently only one producer of lithium carbonate in the United States, Chemetall’s Clayton Valley operation Nevada. The Great Basin of the United States represents excellent potential for the discovery of new lithium brine deposits and American Lithium is well positioned for detection with its projects.
