Jindalee Lithium Limited (ASX:JLL) (Jindalee, the Company) is pleased to provide an update on progress at its 100% owned McDermitt Project, the largest lithium deposit in the US by contained lithium in Mineral Resource (Table 1)1.
Acid leach results imminent, following outstanding initial beneficiation testwork resultsExploration Plan of Operations (EPO) application passes significant milestone Engagement with US Government agencies (both State and Federal) progressing well
PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY (PFS)
The McDermitt PFS commenced in June 2023 with leading global EPCM company Fluor Corporation appointed as lead engineer and Michael Elias engaged as the Company’s Study Manager. Fluor has extensive experience with US sediment hosted lithium deposits and has assembled a team of highly credentialled metallurgists and engineers to work on the study. Fluor is also managing the metallurgical testwork program being undertaken concurrently with the PFS. In early December 2023 Jindalee advised the appointment of Ian Rodger as Chief Executive Officer, commencing mid-January 20242. Ian is an experienced mining engineer and will lead the delivery of the McDermitt PFS.
Additional study work is underway with US West Coast based engineering firms for supporting works including pit geotechnical, mine waste and tailings storage management, hydrology and water supply and grid power supply. In addition, discussions are underway with a mine planning engineering consultancy with contract award targeted for early in the new year. The PFS will also leverage the baseline environmental studies and Native American heritage investigations undertaken for the Exploration Plan of Operations (refer below).
Work is progressing well with several preliminary deliverables already having been received. The PFS is expected to continue through until mid-2024, subject to the timing of metallurgical test results, site investigations and approvals.
PERMITTING – EXPLORATION PLAN OF OPERATIONS
In May 2023 Jindalee announced that the EPO for McDermitt, originally submitted to the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in August 2022 (with additional information provided early 2023), had been deemed complete5. The BLM advised that following close of the public comment period on the EPO mid-September 2023 comments were being assessed as a part of the environmental review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), with the final decision of the NEPA assessment to be incorporated into the EPO.
Jindalee has been notified by the BLM that the NEPA process will commence 10 January 2024. This is a significant milestone as once approved, the EPO will allow Jindalee to significantly increase on-site activity, including infill drilling and providing additional, fresh samples for site investigations (e.g. geotechnical, hydrological) and further metallurgical testwork.
Jindalee continues to engage with US Government agencies (both State and Federal) regarding opportunities to advance McDermitt, including technical cooperation between agencies and the potential for US Government funding for the Project, with further updates expected in the new year.
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