Quarterly Activities & Cashflow Report - September 2014
Perth, Oct 31, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Orocobre Limited (
ASX:ORE) (TSE:ORL) present the Quarterly Activities & Cashflow Report for the period ending September 2014.
Olaroz Lithium-Potash-Boron Project:
- Project construction is in the final stages and is expected to be completed on budget.
- Commissioning of the lithium carbonate plant began in August. Individual circuits are being progressively commissioned as they are released from construction. The plant is expected to be operational during November. All auxiliary circuits have been commissioned.
- Brine inventories are being built up with the brine pumping rate currently 10% more than the steady state requirement, with potential to improve at least another 10%.
- The drilling of two additional bores intersected a thick sand unit >100m beneath the existing resource which, through geological interpretations suggest it could be continuous beneath the salar.
- The exploration target corresponding to this sand unit is between 1.6 and 7.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent between 197m and 323m depth. At depths below 323m there is potential for further brine with geophysical surveys suggesting the bottom of the basin extends up to 600m deep. This exploration target upside suggests that the Olaroz lithium resource could significantly increase without the need to consider additional resource potential north or south of the salar or at greater depths. Furthermore, through the drilling of a larger diameter bore and fitting of higher capacity pumps, the deeper sand aquifer is expected to sustain a brine pumping rate of up to 50l/s from a single bore.
- The deeper sand unit intersected through the drilling of >300m bores P301 and P302 has the characteristics to support high volume brine production, with lithium concentrations and chemistry comparable to other operating wells. This will significantly reduce the capital cost of the first expansion at Olaroz by requiring comparatively fewer bores to achieve the required brine flow rate.
Borax Argentina
- The relocation of the borax decahydrate chemical plant from Campo Quijano to the Tincalayu mine site was completed within budget and the plant re-started in early July.
- The re-modelling and review of the exploration potential of the Tincalyu resource is in the advanced stages and is close to completion.
Corporate
- Cash position of A$22.9m at the end of the quarter, excluding funds in Olaroz Lithium Project companies.
- Orocobre Group was presented with the 2014 Mining Argentina award for "Outstanding CSR Mining Company" in September.
- Annual Report released in September and available on the Company website.
To view the quarterly report, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ORE-826545.pdf
About Orocobre Limited
Orocobre Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange (
ASX:ORE) (TSE:ORL) (OTCMKTS:OROCF), and is building a substantial Argentine based industrial chemicals company through its portfolio of lithium, potash and boron assets. In partnership with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) and JEMSE, Orocobre has built and is now operating the world's first commercial, brine-based lithium operation constructed in approximately 20 years.
In 2018 Orocobre announced the Stage 2 Expansion of its flagship Olaroz Lithium Facility in Argentina. The Stage 2 Expansion will add 25,000 tpa of lithium carbonate production capacity, taking full production and capacity to 42,500 tpa of lithium carbonate for sale to industrial, technical and battery markets, positioning Orocobre as one of the world's largest and lowest cost lithium chemicals producers.
Additionally, Orocobre and Toyota Tsusho Corporation have commenced construction of the 10,000 tpa lithium hydroxide plant in Naraha, Japan. The construction of the Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant will further cement Orocobre's position as a global lithium chemicals producer operating at the bottom quartile of the lithium cost curve. This new hydroxide plant will be the first of its kind in Japan and will provide Orocobre product diversification suitable for different battery technologies and the potential for significant margin growth on our primary lithium carbonate being converted to battery grade lithium hydroxide.
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