Tres Quebradas(3Q) Lithium Project Corporate Presentation Updated - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Tres Quebradas(3Q) Lithium Project Corporate Presentation Updated - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Tres Quebradas(3Q) Lithium Project Corporate Presentation Updated Resource Estimation August 2018 TSX.V:NLC; OTCQX: NTTHF; FSE:NE2 www.neolithium.ca Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements This presentation is strictly confidential and
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Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This presentation is strictly confidential and intended to be strictly informational. The Company reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify all or any part of this presentation without any liability or notification to any person. This presentation includes statements which may be considered forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of management of the Company as at the date hereof and are subject to uncertain events and circumstances which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. You acknowledge that any reliance on or use by you of this information shall be at your own risk. In no event shall the Company, its directors, officers, employees, agents or advisors be liable for any damages of any kind arising out of or relating to the use of this presentation, including, but not limited to, any of loss
- f income or profits, incidental, special, indirect or consequential or any similar losses or damages, whether or not advised of the
possibility of damages, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use of the information contained herein. This document does not constitute, nor should be construed as, an offer or solicitation of an offer for the purchase of any securities
- f the Company, nor investment advice or an offering memorandum. No securities commission or similar authority or stock
exchange in any jurisdiction has in any way passed on any of the information contained herein. The results described herein are exploratory in nature and there can be no assurance that they are indicative of Mineral Resources as defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101. The technical contents of this presentation have been reviewed and approved by Dr. Waldo Perez, Ph.D., P. Geo., a qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”). Mr. Perez is CEO and President of the Company, and is a Ph.D in Geology with a technical background in mineral exploration, including lithium brines. Additional information on sample results and estimates at Tres Quebradas are available in the Company’s technical report titled “Technical Report on Tres Quebradas Lithium Project Catamarca Province, Argentina” with an effective date of December 12, 2017 (the “Technical Report”). Information about the potential economic viability of the 3Q Project included in this presentation is based on a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) described in the Technical Report, and a mineral resource estimate with an effective date
- f May 23, 2017. The Company has reported an increase in its estimates of mineral resources in a news release dated July 19, 2018
and expects to file an updated technical report with respect to the 3Q Project within 45 days of that date. The Company has not yet completed an economic study of the 3Q Project taking the larger mineral resource estimate into account. While the Company does not expect mineral extraction methods to change as a result of the increased mineral resource estimates, and therefore considers the PEA relevant as a preliminary indication of the potential economic feasibility of the 3Q Project, as a result of the increase in the larger mineral resource estimate and developments in the lithium market from the effective date of the Technical Report to the date hereof, certain economic and other parameters that apply to the PEA may no longer be current. Therefore the Company is, and investors should, treat the PEA only as a relevant preliminary indicator of the economic potential of, and not a current economic assessment of, the 3Q Project, subject to the assumptions and parameters of the PEA.
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3Q: One of the Best Undeveloped Lithium Projects in the World
- Fully owned / fully permitted
- Resource:
- 5th largest lithium brine project
- 6th highest grade lithium brine
project high grade core makes it 2nd in the world
- Lowest critical impurity brine project
- Pilot plant to produce Lithium
Carbonate in Q4 2018
- Historic PEA provides a US$1.2B
NPV, US$490M CAPEX and US$2,791 OPEX
- Uses only 17% of the resource
- Proven solar evaporation technology
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Location
- Project located 30km from the
Chilean border with direct road to pacific ports
- The company controls a total of
350km2 up to the border with Chile
- Project is easily accessed through a
provincial highway and a recently upgraded project road
- 100% ownership of the entire salar
complex
- Environmentally permitted to full
feasibility
- No inhabitants or aboriginal
communities in the area
- Surface easement for mine
construction granted by mining authorities
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3Q Project
- Salar and brine reservoir complex
that includes three brine reservoirs and three salars
- There is only one example in the
world of a brine lake: Zhabuye (in China) and is a producing lithium mine
- Geothermal springs (yellow stars
- n map) feed the northern part of
the project
- The geothermal springs contain
high grade lithium and feed into the lakes and salars
- Full infrastructure already built by
the Company
- Environmental base-line almost
completed
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Lithium Brine Reservoir and Salar Complex
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- The northern target has the highest concentration of lithium and potassium
grades and the lowest concentration of critical impurities
- Inflow of hydrothermal springs add lithium to the salar and brine reservoirs
Lithium Rich Hot Springs Feed the Northern Target
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Geophysical Seismic Work
- 50-linear km seismic
reflection survey (first
- f its kind in lithium
brine exploration) along the entire 3Q salar and basins
- The cross sections
show the basin is tilted eastwards
- The long section
shows the salar is deeper in the central section
- The main geological
units are clearly identified in the survey
- The deepest
reflectors are located around 800m
- The upper “porous”
portion of the basin is very noisy
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Drilling Program
- A total of 9,334m drilled in 2
seasons
- 6,208m diamond drill holes
- 3,126m rotary holes
- Total of 48 drill holes
- Deepest hole: 647m
1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 2016/2017 2017/2018 DDHH 2064 4144 Rotary 1169 1957 Meters
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Hydrostratigraphic Model
- Drilling and
geophysical program allowed detailed reconstruction of the salar at depth
- Program defined 6
geological Units
- Vulcan was used in
the estimation
- Inverse Distance
Weighting
- Effective porosity
defined by 307 samples analyzed in Daniel Stephens Labs in Albuquerque, US
High Porosity Halite Upper Sediments Fanglomerates Massive Halite Porous Halite Lower Sediments
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Cut-Off Analysis
7.211 M t @ 581 mg/L Li 7.210 M t @ 582 mg/L Li 6.921 M t @ 602 mg/L Li 5.092 M t @ 671 mg/L Li 3.315 M t @ 759 mg/L Li 1.106 M t @ 1,106 mg/L Li
Measured Indicated Inferred
0 cut-off 200 cut off 400 cut-off 500 cut-off 600 cut-off 800 cut-off
- There is a significant very high grade M+I resource in the north
- This area could be mined first
- There are few low grade blocks throughout the project
- The 400 cut-off provides the largest resource with minimal impact on the grade
Lithium Carbonate Grade
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3Q Project 2018 Resource Estimation
Numbers Rounded-up for ease of reference
- Measured and indicated resource increased ~2.3 times from 2017
- Inferred resource increased by ~30% from 2017
- M+I grade increased by ~8.3% and inferred grade increased by ~3%
- No significant change in impurities
400 mg/L Lithium Cut-off
Resource Estimate July 20, 2018 Resource Estimate May 23, 2017 Avg. Lithium (mg/L) Li2CO3 Equivalent (tonnes) Avg. Potassium (mg/L) KCl Equivalent (tonnes) H 3BO3 Equivalent (tonne) Mg/Li Sulfate/ Li Avg. Lithium (mg/L) Li2CO3 Equivalent (tonnes) % Change Li2CO3 Equivalent (tonnes) Measured 701 568,673 6,479 1,881,620 807,730 2.7 0.5 792 52,569 980% Indicated 602 3,436,251 5,793 11,842,554 4,862,155 3.4 0.5 560 1,171,735 193% Total M&I 614 4,004,925 5,878 13,724,173 7,197,490 3.3 0.5 567 1,224,305 227% Inferred 584 2,916,997 5,650 23,838,108 5,670,084 4.5 0.6 567 2,237,803 30%
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Depth of the Resource
- More than 50% of the resource is hosted in the upper 100m of very porous rocks
- 33% of the resource is hosted in the deeper sediments with large blue sky potential
Lakes High Porosity Halite Upper Sediments Porous Halite Massive Halite Deeper Sediments Fanglomerate 2 35 70 100 > 100 >300 >500
100% 14.7% 9.1% 6.3% 3.8% 5.2% 11.2% 1.29 11.74 19.57 19.04 10.21 15.21 22.95
Effective Porosity Depth (m) Rock Type Resource %
13 $14 EV/Resource
5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 25,000,000 30,000,000 ALB - La Isla ALB - Silver Peak BRZ - Maricunga ILC - Mariana LPI - Maricunga Nextview - Diablillos Citic - W. Taijinar LSC - Rio Grande / Pozuelos AAL - Cauchari ML - Pastos Grandes FMC - Hombre Muerto GXY - Sal de Vida LAC - Cauchari ORE-Olaroz NLC - 3Q Project Zhabuye Energi - Rincon Uyuni SQM/ALB - Atacama
Lithium Tonnes
Size and Enterprise Value Comparison
Significant portion of this resource was mined out and remains unreported High Mg and Sulfate and low grade
Producing Li Brine Mine Lithium Brine Project 3Q Lithium Project
$159 EV/Resource $100 EV/Resource $43 EV/Resource $36 EV/Resource $28 EV/Resource $29 EV/Resource $23 EV/Resource $40 EV/Resource SQM $700 EV/Resource
- 3Q is now the fifth largest brine project worldwide, and of those it is the only project with low
critical impurities that is not in production
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0.0000 0.0200 0.0400 0.0600 0.0800 0.1000 0.1200 0.1400 0.1600 ALB - Silver Peak Citic - W. Taijinar ILC - Mariana Energi - Rincon Uyuni ALB - Antofalla LSC - Rio Grande LSC - Pozuelos AAL - Cauchari ML - Pastos Grandes LIX - Angeles LAC - Cauchari 3Q Project FMC - Hombre Muerto GXY - Sal de Vida Zhabuye LPI/Bearing - Maricunga 3Q Project (800mg/L cut-off) SQM/ALB - Atacama
Lithium %
Grade Comparison
Producing Li Brine Mine Lithium Brine Project 3Q Lithium Project
High Mg and/or Sulfate
- 3Q is the sixth highest grade project worldwide based on 400mg/L Lithium cut-off
- High grade core of 1,106mg/L Lithium and over 1.1mt Lithium Carbonate make it #2 in the
world
Over 1.1mt of LC
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ALB - Silver Peak Citic - W. Taijinar ILC - Mariana Energi - Rincon Uyuni ALB - Antofalla LSC - Rio Grande LSC - Pozuelos AAL - Cauchari ML - Pastos Grandes NEXT - Angeles LAC - Cauchari FMC - Hombre Muerto 3Q Project GXY - Sal de Vida ALB - La Isla Zhabuye LPI/Bearing - Maricunga SQM/ALB - Atacama ORE - Olaroz
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 SO4/Li Ratio Mg/Li Ratio
Impurities & Cash Cost – Project Comparison
Source: company reports and industry research * Excludes by-products
Producing Li Brine Mine Lithium Brine Project 3Q Lithium Project OPEX in US$/t Lithium Carbonate
- f Producing Projects
Zhabuye: $5,500 Silver Peak: $4,500 Olaroz: $3,800 Hombre Muerto: $3,500 Atacama: $2,500
- There are no brine projects in production worldwide with high Sulfate or Magnesium impurities
- 3Q has the lowest combined critical impurities worldwide
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- The historic PEA was released in December 2017 based on the previous resource announced in
April 2017
- Neo Lithium has not yet completed an economic study of the 3Q Project taking the new larger
mineral resource estimate into account
- We do not expect mineral extraction methods to change as a result of the increased mineral resource
estimates and the grade and location of the resource remains the same, therefore PEA is still relevant as a preliminary indication of the potential economic feasibility of the 3Q Project
- Neo Lithium will continue to advance the project in terms of process refinement, weather data
collection and hydrological model completion and this new information, combined with the increase in the larger mineral resource estimate and developments in the lithium market
- These results may vary certain economic and other parameters that apply to the historic PEA may no
longer be current
- Therefore, investors should treat the historic PEA only as a relevant preliminary indicator of the
economic potential of, and not a current economic assessment of, the 3Q Project, subject to the assumptions and parameters of the historic PEA
Historic PEA
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The brine is extracted from wells and sent to a 3 step pond process:
1. Pre-concentration ponds: where sodium, potassium and calcium chloride precipitate 2. Conditioning brine: where remaining Ca is removed by adding Na2SO4 to form gypsum. 3. Post-concentration Ponds: Li is concentrated until 6 % W/W with precipitate remaining salt such as sodium chloride, carnalite and gypsum
PEA Plan – Evaporation Plant and Lithium Carbonate Plant
Pre Concentration Ponds Post Concentration Ponds Tailings
- Finishing a battery grade lithium carbonate product:
- Well known, standard, solvent extraction process to extract the
boron
- Calcium and Magnesium Removal
- Soda Ash added to produce Lithium Carbonate
- Final Stage: drying, compaction, micronized and bagging
- Concentrated brine is shipped by trucks to the town of
Fiambala ~150km away (50km mining road and 100km
- f two lane highway)
- Due to the high concentration of the brine and the
cost/benefit of building the facilities in the town
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3Q Project: Historic Preliminary Economic Assessment Highlights
PEA Highlights and Results
After-Tax Net Present Value ("NPV") @ 8% Discount Rate US$1,200 million After-Tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") 27.9% Capital Expenditures US$490.2 million Cash Operating Costs (per tonne of LCE) $2,791 Steady-state Annual Production (lithium carbonate) 35,000 Mine Life 20 years Payback Period (from commencement of production) 1 year 8 months
- The economic analysis of the historic PEA was based on the following assumptions:
- Construction commencing in 2019 with a three years ramp-up from 2021 to 2023
- All numbers based on a constant U.S. dollar basis
- Average lithium carbonate pricing over the life of mine is ~US$11,760/t
– Current average pricing is close to US$14,500/t (Source: Benchmark)
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Global Lithium Cost Curve Estimate
NLC 3Q Project
- 3Q Project cash costs in the historic PEA of $2,791/t is very competitive with
current producers and compares very well with advanced development projects
- SQM/ALB Salar de Atacama cost excludes CORFO royalty structure of 50%
>$10,000/t pricing or current discussions of 60% royalty >$12,000/t
SQM (Chile) Albermarle (Chile/USA) FMC (Argentina) Orocobre (Argentina) Other Brine (China) Other Conversion (China) Talison (Tianqi/ALB China) $0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 $6,000 $7,000 $8,000 $9,000 30 60 90 120 150 180 210
Estimated Cash Cost (US$/t) Current Capacity (kt LCE)
LAC – Cauchari 2017 FS $2,495 Galaxy – Sal de Vida 2016 DFS $3,369 Source: Roskill, Global Lithium LLC and company information
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Lithium Market 2018
- The historic PEA used 3
Lithium Carbonate Average Pricing Scenarios:
- Low:
US$ 10,200
- Base:
US$ 11,760
- High:
US$ 14,250
- However, the historic PEA
assumed “Base” long-term pricing is conservative when compared to current pricing
- f US$15,750/t
- Current price are higher than
the “High” long-term price scenario
- Historic PEA based on
Conservative assumptions
Source: Benchmark
Lithium Carbonate (US$/tonne), FOB South America
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Current Development
- Over $25 million invested
in the 3Q Project
- 100 person year-round
camp
- Paved highway access
plus 60km all weather road
- Vaisala weather station
- Full geochemical
analytical lab
- Ponds and pumps in full
- peration
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Pilot Evaporation Pond String
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Outline of the Project Infrastructure
New 2.2 ha Ponds Pumping Wells Camp Weather Station Pilot Ponds Road Piping Access Road
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Pond Progress – “Most Advanced of Any Developer”
- A total of 6 new ponds have been built
- This is the largest evaporation pilot plant of any other lithium developer
- Two large ponds built on top of the salar are completed and in the process of being
filled with brine
- Three smaller ponds were also built for the high concentration brine
- One smaller pond to store 3.5% Li brine was also completed
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Lithium Process Progress
- Pilot plant to produce Lithium
Carbonate on site in Construction, expected to be operational before the end of the year
- Solar evaporation at the project have
achieved concentration levels of 3.8% lithium in brine
- No costly additives were required to
achieve this concentration Historic PEA assumes >US$860/t
- This is unique to the 3Q Project as a
consequence of low impurities and high calcium content
- Calcium chloride precipitates with 6
molecules of water
- Larger evaporation ponds completed to
scale up the process and feed the pilot lithium carbonate plant
Calcium Chloride with 6 H20 3.8% Lithium Brine
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Timeline
- From project discovery to defining one of the largest lithium brine deposits in the
world in only 2.5 years
- Neo Lithium has been able to achieve every announced key milestones on time
and on budget
Description
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Initial Sistematic Sampling First Report Road Upgrade Camp Construction Drilling Season 1 Pump Test Season 1 Experimental Ponds Construction (Ph 1+2) Evaporation cycle Environmental Base Line Program Maiden Resource Estimate Preliminary Economic Assessment Drilling Season 2 Pump Test Season 2 Updated Resource Estimate Lithium Carbonate Pilot Plant Construction Pilot Plant Operation Feasibility Study Financing Discussions Construction Decision 2016 2017 2018 2019
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The Right Management Team
- 28 years of experience – discovered 5 mines (2 in
production and 3 in development)
- Founder and technical leader of the Cauchari project
acquired through Lithium Americas Corp.,
- Previously he served as CEO of Latin American
Minerals Inc (LAT), Senior Geologist for Barrick Gold, IAMGOLD, Apex Geoscience and Opawica Exploration
Waldo Perez,
Ph.D. P. Geo. President & CEO
Carlos Vicens,
MBA – CFO
- 15 years of experience financial markets experience
- Former Vice President in Scotiabank’s Investment
Banking Mining team and participated in +$10B of M&A transactions and +$5B in equity and debt issuances
Gabriel Pindar,
Director - COO
- 22 years of experience as a Project Executive in
the development of mining projects and large scale infrastructure (rail and port) in Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Australia, Canada, West Africa and United Kingdom.
Constantine Karayannopoulos,
Chairman
- Non Executive Chairman of Neo Performance Materials Board of
- Directors. Director of the Canada China Business Council and is a
member of the Advisory Board at the University of Toronto’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. He holds Bachelor and Master of Applied Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
- Previously he served as Chairman and interim President and Chief
Executive Officer of Molycorp and President and Chief Executive Officer of Neo Material Technologies (Sold to Molycorp Corp for $1.3 B).
- Director of Lithium Americas Corp. from 2011 to 2015.
Thomas Pladsen,
Director
- 20 years experience in the exploration and mining
industry.
- Mr. Pladsen is a director of Carrie Arron Resources Inc.,
EPM Mining Ventures Inc., KWG Resources Inc., Northfield Capital Corporation and White Pine Resources Inc.
Paul Fornazzari,
B.Sc. LLM – Director
- Currently a partner at the law firm Fasken Martineau
LLP
- Former Chairman of Lithium Americas Corp.
- Paul has a broad experience advising boards.
executive teams and investment dealers and acts for domestic and foreign clients in various industries
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Strong Capital Structure
TSX.V: NLC; OTCQX:NTTHF; FSE:NE2 $1.20 ~$140M Ticker Price (August 10, 2018) Market Capitalization 117.1M ~$50M (no debt)
GMP ($3.25) - Cormark ($3.25) Canaccord ($2.00) – VII Capital ($3.00)
Issued & Outstanding Shares Net Cash (June 30, 2017) Research Coverage 128.5M ~45%* ~16% FD Outstanding Shares Institutional Ownership Insider Ownership
Note: all numbers in Canadian dollars except per share data * Major shareholders include BlackRock, M&G, JPMorgan, RBIM, CCL, Manulife, Mackenzie, Sprott, Guardian
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Strong Community Program with Government Support
- Liex is Neo Lithium Corp in
Argentina
- Permanent offices in
Fiambala
- Sustainable community
program based on E3Plus and Ecuador Principles
- Strong Community Support
based on
- Permanent Information
- Visits to the Project
- Training Courses
- Hiring Local People
- Buy local program
- Support to Sport and culture
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Argentina – A great Business Opportunity
- President Macri took office in December 2015
and started a major shift in economic policies
- Currency Controls lifted
- Export tax eliminated
- Import Restriction lifted
- Capital repatriation limits lifted
- $104 Billion Dollars announced investments
in two years in Oil and Gas, Mining and Green Energy
- $143 Billion Dollars announced to be
invested in infrastructure in the next decade
- Lithium development one of the main
priorities of Central and Provincial Government Argentina Overview
Area 2.78 million Km2 Population 44.3 Million Urban Population 92% President Mauricio Macri Nominal GDP 911.5 B US$ GDP Grow (2017) 2.5% GDP Forecast 2018 3.5%
“In five years Argentina will be the main provider of lithium to the world” MAURICIO MACRI January 18, 2018.
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Why Neo Lithium?
Neo Lithium has discovered one of the most promising NEW lithium project in the world High Grade & Low Impurities 100% Owned Large Project Very Large Resource Experienced Technical and Financial Team Simple Solar Evaporation Process Strong Results
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Contact or additional information: info@neolithium.ca www.neolithium.ca Headquarters: 401 Bay St, Suite 2702 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2Y4