Latin Resources (ASX: LRS) says a new resource upgrade at its already hulking Salinas lithium project in Brazil, places it among the global giants as the company takes aim at producing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) later this year.
The company’s latest figures released today show that Salinas now boasts 77.7 million tonnes grading 1.24 per lithium oxide for a mammoth 2.35 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent hosted in pegmatites.
The project is comprised of two deposits – Colina and Fog’s Block. Colina is the more mature deposit, with 67.27 million tonnes of its total 70.89 million tonnes sitting in the higher-confidence measured and indicated categories. Its lithium grade is 1.25 per cent across all resource categories and 1.27 per cent in the measured and indicated levels.
Fog’s Block is less mature and has an inferred resource of 6.79 million tonnes at 0.87 per cent lithium oxide for 146,100 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. Interestingly, it has an exploration target of between 7 million tonnes and 18 million tonnes at grades of between 0.8 per cent and 1.1 per cent, providing the potential for Salinas to swell even more – and possibly soon exceed 80 million tonnes following more drilling.
Latin is on the cusp of developing a fully-sustainable lithium mine, becoming a Tier-one, low-cost producer, with significant cost saving benefits and competitive market advantage from its geographical location in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Latin Resources managing director Chris Gale.
The latest resource upgrade at Salinas is the fourth for the project and is based on 297 drillholes for almost 100km of diamond drilling. Since December 2022, it has grown from just 13.3 million tonnes to the behemoth it is today.
Latin says last year’s preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Salinas showed robust economics, including an internal rate of return (IRR) of 132 per cent and life-of-mine revenue of $12.6 billion. Now, with even more lithium ore on the books, Latin is taking aim at releasing its DFS in this year’s third quarter.
The PEA proposed a 3.6 million tonnes per year standalone mining and processing operation, kicking-off with phase one mining in 2026. Latin says the DFS will incorporate the freshly-minted Salinas resource and detailed mine scheduling and optimisation is underway in parallel with environmental approvals and licencing.
Management says there are already a few offtake partners knocking on the door, with proposals received from several parties as the company assesses its funding options to expeditiously progress the development of Salinas. The project sits in the Bananal Valley region in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerias about 600km north-east of the city of Belo Horizonte.
The company’s neighbour, regional success story Sigma Lithium, has been producing environmentally-sustainable battery-grade lithium concentrate on a pilot scale since 2018. Sigma went into production mid-last year at its Grota do Cirilo project, with annual production of 766,000 tonnes per year.
Latin’s exploration focus has now shifted to its Planalto prospect just south of Colina where previous assays delivered a 9.25m section going 1.21 per cent lithium oxide from 395.29m and 16.14m grading 1.29 per cent from 425m including 7.14m at 1.63 per cent from 434m.
Four rigs are operating at Planalto where all four holes completed have intersected the pegmatite swarm at the site. The company also has eight rigs at Colina conducting sterilisation drilling and two rigs undertaking geotechnical drilling, which will be used to develop the DFS.
Brazil came in fifth last year in the race to be the world’s biggest lithium producer – behind Australia, Chile, China and Argentina – pumping out 4900 metric tonnes of the battery metal.
With a resource boost now on the books and DFS taking shape, Latin seems well poised to take on Sigma’s title as Brazil’s biggest lithium producer.
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