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On November 26, Ganfeng Lithium and Minera Exar, an associate company of Lithium Americas, were named "Mining Company of the Year" by the Argentine mining magazine "Panorama Minero". Minera Exar is owned 50% by Ganfeng Lithium and American Lithium. Its core lithium salt lake project Cauchari-Olaroz is already under construction. The lithium resource reserves support an annual output of more than 40,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate and last for 40 years.
"Panorama Minero" was established in 1976 and is one of the most influential mining magazines in Argentina. This award is selected by experts after investigation and evaluation. The Minera Exar award is mainly based on the consideration of the development speed, reserves, infrastructure and environmental protection of the Cauchari-Olaroz project.
The Cauchari-Olaroz project is located in Jujuy Province, Argentina. Its main business is to obtain lithium or lithium compounds from local salt lakes through lithium extraction technology from brine. The construction of the lithium extraction site (evaporation pond) for this project started in the first quarter of 2018 and is currently progressing on schedule. With the capital investment of US$160 million in Ganfeng Lithium this year, the construction progress of the lithium mine has been further promoted. The number of local employees and suppliers has exceeded 700. It is planned to complete the construction in 2020 and start production in 2021. Gabriel Rubacha, president of Lithium Americas South America, also said that the rapid progress of the Cauchari-Olaroz project is inseparable from the support of the local government and the technology and capital investment of Ganfeng Lithium.
According to the resource update announcement of the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium salt lake project of MineraExar, Argentina issued by Ganfeng Lithium in December 2019, the average lithium concentration of Cauchari-Olaroz salt lake (total measured and indicated resources) is 592mg/L, and the lithium content is 3,729,700 tons. , The equivalent of lithium carbonate reaches 19,852,700 tons, and the lithium resource reserves support an annual output of more than 40,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate for more than 40 years.
The Cauchari-Olaroz project also has complete infrastructure surrounding it, including a 300MW solar power project, high-voltage power transmission lines, natural gas pipelines, and main roads connected to the port to ensure the mining, refining and transportation of lithium resources.
"Minera Exar is committed to building Caucharí-Olaroz into one of the world's most environmentally friendly lithium projects", President and CEO Jon Evans pointed out that the main energy source for extracting lithium from salt lakes is solar energy, which consumes less fossil energy; and the project uses process water It is a water source that does not meet human drinking standards, which makes Caucharí-Olaroz's environmental protection more distinctive. On the other hand, since high-temperature roasting and other links are not required, the cost of extracting lithium from salt lakes is also lower than that of extracting lithium from ore. After commissioning, the Cauchari-Olaroz project is expected to become one of the lowest-cost brine lithium extraction projects in the world.
The Benchmark Mining Intelligence Agency (BMI) predicts that global demand for lithium carbonate will increase to 2.2 million tons in 2030. In addition to Minera Exar, Ganfeng Lithium also holds or controls RIM, LAC, Pilbara, Bacanora and other mining companies all over the world; and in 2016, it launched a lithium battery recycling project to achieve lithium extraction from waste batteries and gradually promote the company’s global Dimensional and multi-dimensional layout.
