ASX Announcement
28 January 2022
Quarterly Activity Report for period ending 31 December 2021
HIGHLIGHTS
Salta Lithium Brine Project, Argentina
• Very high 5.2% lithium delivered from brine blending program at Incahuasi and Rincon
only | salares |
Brine blending program continued to deliver high lithium recoveries and low | |
• |
contaminants in concentrated Li brine
• Final results due Q1 CY22 and will form the basis for initial technical and economic
use | project evaluation |
Eyre Peninsula Kaolin-Halloysite Project, South Australia
• Plans for first-phase drilling confirmed with drilling to commence on confirmation of
drill rig availability | |
personal | |
• | Up to 130 aircore holes for 7,800m at priority targets on all exploration licences |
• | Drilling designed to test depth and strike extent plus mineralogy of known kaolin |
occurrences plus other targets defined by geophysics |
Other Projects
• PepinNini and Ganfeng Lithium completed an IP geophysical survey at Santa Ines Cu-Au
Project in Argentina, and plans for maiden drilling program were assessed
• Negotiations progressed with traditional owners of the APY Lands for access and commencement of exploration at Musgrave Ni-Cu-Co Project in South Australia
Board and Management Changes
• Rebecca Holland-Kennedy resigned as managing director and as a director of PNN
• Luis Kennedy also resigned as a non-executive director
• Subsequent to the quarter, Stephen Ross was appointed non-executive chairman
For replacing David Turvey who remains a non-executive director; and
• Mena Habib was appointed executive director with responsibility for management of day-to-day operations
inancial
- Successful $3.7m Placement completed to advance exploration at core projects
- Strong cash position of $5.446m as at 31 December 2021 - the Company is fully funded for next phase of exploration
PepinNini Minerals Ltd | Directors |
Level 1 | STEPHEN ROSS - Chairman |
6/68 North Terrace | MENA HABIB - Executive Director |
Kent Town SA 5067 | JAMES MOSES - Non-Executive Director |
DAVID TURVEY - Non-Executive Director |
www.pepinnini.com.au | ASX: PNN
Diversified minerals company PepinNini Minerals Limited (ASX: PNN) (PepinNini or the Company) is pleased to provide the following update on its activities for the period ending 31 December 2021.
onlyPepinNini has a portfolio of strategically located exploration projects in key, demand driven commodities including; the Salta Lithium Brine Project in the lithium triangle in Argentina, the Eyre Peninsula Kaolin- Halloysite Project on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, the Musgrave Nickel-Copper-Cobalt-PGE Project in northern South Australia and the Santa Ines Copper-Gold Project in Argentina.
OPERATIONS
useSalta Lithium Brine Project, Argentina
The Salta Project is located in the Salta province in north-west Argentina and is part of the Lithium Triangle, the world's leading lithium brine region. The Project consists of five salares (salt lakes) that sit within seven mining leases, over a total project area of 147.07km2 (Figure 1).
Brine Blending Program delivers 5.2% Lithium
The Company is conducting a brine blending program designed to blend the different chemical properties personalof the lithium brines from the Incahuasi salar and Rincon salar, within the Salta Project (Figure 1). Its aim is to deliver a higher lithium concentration with minimal deleterious elements and high lithium recoveries in
the concentrated blended brine, compared to the lithium concentrate values of the individual salares.
The program commenced in May 2021 and has progressively assessed the level of lithium concentration from the blended brines as they evaporate over time, delivering highly positive results. Progress results have been detailed in ASX announcements, 22 September 2021, 25 November 2021 and 20 January 2022).
The latest test produced an exceptionally high brine mix concentrate of 5.2% lithium (Li) with low levels of contaminants (Table 1) (ASX announcement, 20 January 2022). This result was highly significant, and compares very favourably with other lithium companies in the region.
Significance of results to date include:
•
•
•
ForThe brine blending program is PepinNini's core immediate-term work program at the Salta Project. The final results will help determine potential development pathways and monetisation opportunities for the Project.
www.pepinnini.com.au | 2 |
For personal use only
Figure 1: Location Plan - Salta Lithium Brine Project, NW. Argentina (PNN licenses in blue)
Element & | Symbol | Unit | Blended Brine | ||||||||
Parameter | 17 December 2021 | ||||||||||
Lithium | Li | % | 5.22 | ||||||||
Sodium | Na | % | 0.096 | ||||||||
Potassium | K | % | 0.324 | ||||||||
Magnesium | Mg | % | 1.52 | ||||||||
Calcium | Ca | % | 0.198 | ||||||||
Sulphate | SO4 | % | 0.023 | ||||||||
Chloride | Cl | % | 31.29 | ||||||||
Boron | B | % | 0.463 | ||||||||
Density | gram / cc | 1.275 |
Table 1: Laboratory Analysis: Concentrated Blended Brine, 17 December 2021
Background to Brine Blending Program
The brine blending program commenced in May 2021, and has progressively assessed the level of lithium concentration from the blended brines as they evaporate over time. The brines have been blended at a ratio of approximately 3:1 from the Incahuasi salar and Rincon salar respectively.
www.pepinnini.com.au | 3 |
The Incahuasi salar is located immediately adjacent to Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd.'s project and the Rincon salar is immediately adjacent to Rincon Mining Ltd, which is to be acquired by Rio Tinto Ltd for US$825 million.
The brine-blending evaporation process flowsheet is shown in Figure 2 (below).
only | 1 | Rincon Well Brine evaporation | ||||||
KCl | ||||||||
2 | Incahuasi Well Brine evaporation | |||||||
Water | 3 | Brine Mix for Ca and SO4 removal | ||||||
4 | Mixed Brine evaporation | |||||||
use | Incahuasi Well Brine | |||||||
Water | 600 ppm Li | 5 | KCl treatment for Mg removal | |||||
2 | 6 | Final evaporation | ||||||
KCl | ||||||||
Rincon Well Brine | Solution | |||||||
Water | 1000 ppm Li | 3 | Water | 26000 ppm Li | 5 | Water | 51500 ppm Li | |
Concetrated Brine | ||||||||
1 | 4 | 6 | ||||||
personal | KCl.MgCl2.6H2O | |||||||
Ca2SO4.2H2O | ||||||||
NaCl | ||||||||
KCl | ||||||||
KCl.MgCl2.6H2O | ||||||||
MgCl2.6H2O | ||||||||
NaCl | ||||||||
NaCl | ||||||||
Figure 2: Brine-Blending Evaporation Process Flowsheet, December 2021 | ||||||||
Significance of brine-blendingprocess:
•
•
•
Testing is ongoing to determine the different concentration paths and process reagent inputs for individual ForRincon and Incahuasi lithium brines compared to the 3:1 blended lithium brine, and also to compare
PepinNini's brine-blending results with production processes of industry peer Li chemical companies. Next Steps
•
•
•
•
•
www.pepinnini.com.au | 4 |
Eyre Peninsula Kaolin-Halloysite Project, South Australia | |
The Eyre Peninsula Kaolin-Halloysite Project consists of three Exploration Licences (EL6677, EL6681 and | |
personaluse only | |
EL6689) covering a total area of 1,413km2. It is strategically located adjacent to Andromeda Metals' (ASX: | |
ADN) Kaolin-Halloysite project areas on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula (Figure 3). | |
For | Figure 3: Eyre Peninsula Kaolin-Halloysite Project location map |
The Project represents a core exploration asset for PepinNini, and significant progress towards a maiden drilling program was made during the quarter.
All Exploration Licences have been granted (ASX announcements, 5 and 6 October, and 9 November 2021), land access agreements are being progressively sought over the project area and EPEPR (Exploration Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation) approval for drilling from the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining has been granted.
www.pepinnini.com.au | 5 |
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PepinNini Minerals Limited published this content on 30 January 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 January 2022 21:40:10 UTC.