- Updating shareholders on the recent developments in regards to the acquisition of Le Royal Lithium project and the agreement with Platypus Resources (ASX:PLP)
- Recent developments concerning the commercial terms of the proposed joint-venture and the L-Max(R) lithium extraction technology license that is part of the agreement
Montreal, Quebec / August 29, 2016 – St-Georges Platinum and Base Metals Ltd. (CSE:SX) (OTC:SXOOF) (FSE:85G1) is pleased to update its shareholders on the recent developments in regards to the acquisition of Le Royal Lithium project and the agreement with Platypus Resources (ASX:PLP) concerning the commercial terms of the proposed joint-venture and the L-Max(R) lithium extraction technology license that is part of the agreement.
Le Royal Lithium Project Update
The Company has recently agreed to commercial terms with Platypus Resources (ASX:PLP) in regards to the joint-venture proposed on Le Royal Lithium project. (Please refer to St-Georges Press Release dated August 4, 2016). The agreement establishes St-Georges’ initial ownership option at 30% against payments of 3 million shares over 3 years and CAD $450,000 worth of qualified exploration work on the project. Spending an additional CAD $450,000 on the project and delivering a NI 43-101 report will also enable St-Georges to bring its total ownership of the project to 50%.
Due diligence results
St-Georges expects to receive the initial draft version of the technical report on Le Royal Lithium project in early September. This report will constitute the last step of the due diligence effort conducted jointly with PLP on the project.
The licenced L-Max(R) Technology
The agreement also established a framework for the usage of the L-Max(R) technology owned by Platypus through its fully own subsidiary Lepidico Pty Ltd. St-Georges’ management was asked by some of its shareholders and many stakeholders to release more details on this particular aspect of the agreement.
L-Max(R) is a proprietary process developed to extract and recover battery-grade lithium carbonate and potassium sulfate fertilizer from Li-rich micas. Micas include lepidolite, zinnwaldite and Li-containing muscovite.
Unlike other lithium extraction processes, the L-Max(R) process does not require significant amounts of land for evaporation ponds, or costly pyrometallurigical processing routes in order to extract and recover the valuable lithium. The hydrometallurgical L-Max(R) process involves direct atmospheric leaching of lithium mica and purification with subsequent lithium carbonate precipitation. It differs considerably from the traditional processing of spodumene, which requires high temperature decrepitation and sulfate roasting prior to lithium recovery. This novel process is simpler and is expected to have lower energy requirements than existing lithium recovery processes. The processing of lithium micas also results in the production of potassium and rare metals containing by-products, which could significantly offset the operating costs of lithium carbonate productionThe metallurgical test work has demonstrated the viability of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate (99.5% purity) and potassium containing fertilizer from the Li-mica feed material.
The hydrometallurgical L-Max(R) process involves direct atmospheric leaching of lithium mica impurity with subsequent lithium carbonate precipitation. It differs considerably from the traditional processing of spodumene, which requires high temperature decrepitation and sulfate roasting prior to lithium recovery. This novel process is simpler and is expected to have lower energy requirements than existing lithium recovery processes. The processing of lithium micas also results in the production of potassium and rare metals containing by-products, which could significantly offset the operating costs of lithium carbonate production. The metallurgical test work has demonstrated the viability of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate (99.5% purity) and potassium containing fertilizer from the Li-mica feed material.
The L-Max(R) process uses mainstream industrial chemicals namely, sulfuric acid and lime/limestone. These are cheap and readily available chemicals that are the cornerstone of large-scale chemical processing. L-Max(R) does not use expensive, specialized reagents that may be difficult to obtain, expensive to procure, or complex in operation. The use of cheap, readily available reagents does not necessitate their recovery or recycling, thus further reducing the costs of the process.
The process has been extensively tested in a series of batch laboratory tests using ore from Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) and European Metals Holdings (ASX:EMH). The flotation of lithium mica from the pegmatite ore is a useful upgrade step and was successful, achieving high lithium recovery. Leaching of the lithium micas has achieved very high dissolution rates in relatively short leaching times.
Click Image To View Full SizeFigure 1. L-Max(R) Technology Flow Chart
The results of metallurgical test work demonstrated the viability of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate and potassium containing fertilizer from the mica material. (Figure 1)
Figure 1. L-Max(R) Technology Flow Chart
For more information about the L-Max(R) Lithium extraction technology please visit Platypus Resources/Lepidico web site at www.platypusminerals.com.au
Enrico Di Cesare, director of St-Georges and responsible for the Research & Development efforts in Canada, commented: “St-Georges is excited by the potential of this technology. Not only does it bring promise to our own mineral prospects but has the potential to unlock other resources around the world that have long been overlooked. We are excited by the potential this technology brings in producing two highly sought after products of lithium carbonate and potassium sulfate(…) St-Georges has focused on finding resources that are sought after and combining with technology, intending to be a low cost producer and greener through the production of salable by-products.(…) The St-Georges management team is looking forward to building a team around the exploitation of the resources and completing the work with this new technology and raw materials.”
“The relationship with Platypus enables us to growth exponentially the amount of targets we can now entertain in the reclamation business, the revival of old mineral projects, tailings and/or alternative mineral sources around the world. (…) We believe that we will be in a position to test the compatibility of our own research with this technology and approach future potential clients as complementary technological providers (…) all this while developing a showcase potential alternative lithium source in the middle of a known lithium mining camp,” said Frank Dumas, president and CEO of St-Georges.
Quarterly Financial Reports
St-Georges published its quarterly financial statements today. The documents are now available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). For the six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015, the Company had no revenues. The Company incurred net losses for the period of $92,271 (2015 – $121,944). The decrease in the loss is primarily due to a reduction of subcontractor costs to $34,046 (2015 – $60,224) due to lower charges from the new CFO. At June 30, 2016, the Company had a working capital deficit of $272,950 (December 31, 2015 – $285,025).
On May 9, 2016, the Company completed a private placement for total subscriptions of $145,000 for 7,250,000 units priced at $0.02 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one non-transferrable 28-month warrant entitling the purchaser to acquire one common share and one additional warrant at an exercise price of $0.04. The second warrant has an exercise price of $0.06 and expires 28 months from the initial issue date. Common shares of the units subscribed by insiders are restricted for 24 months.
As at June 30, 2016, the Company had 49,839,045 common shares outstanding, and at the current date has 50,339,045 common shares outstanding.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Enrico Di Cesare”
ENRICO DI CESARE, DIRECTOR
About St-Georges
St-Georges is developing new technologies to solve the biggest environmental problems in the mining industry. If these new technologies are successful, they should improve the financial bottom line of current mining producers. The potential success of these technologies would also involve upgrading certain current known metal resources to economic status while addressing the environmental and social acceptability issues.
The Company also explores for Nickel on the Julie Nickel Project on Quebec’s North Shore.
Headquartered in Montreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed on the CSE under the symbol SX, on the US OTC under the Symbol SXOOF and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 85G1. For additional information, please visit our website at www.stgeorgesplatinum.com
The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.
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