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Peter Epstein, CFA, MBA conducted the following interview by phone and email in the week ended July 28th. The views expressed herein are entirely that of Pure Energy Minerals' management team and Board. To the best of Mr. Epstein's knowledge, the facts presented by CEO Robert Mintak in this interview are accurate. Mr. Epstein owns no shares of Pure Energy Minerals at this time. Mr. Epstein may or may not acquire shares in the open market at a later date. Please see further disclosures at the bottom of this interview.
Please explain Pure Energy Minerals to readers unfamiliar with your Company?
Pure Energy Minerals [TSXV: PE; OTC: HMGLF; GR:AHG1 ] is a lithium-brine resource company with a goal of becoming the lowest cost lithium supplier in North America. We are focused on advancing our Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Deposit, “Clayton Valley,” in Nevada. Pure Energy recently released a NI43-101 compliant Inferred Resource Estimate of 816,000 metric tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent, “LCE” over 8,000 acres across our claim area, inferring a globally significant resources adjacent to the only lithium production facility in North America, Albemarle's Silver Peak Lithium Mine. [Note: See next question.]
The Company is aligned with global technology partners focused on innovative solutions for lithium brine processing. Based in Vancouver, Pure Energy has a highly experienced management team with backgrounds in finance, exploration, geoscience, lithium processing, permitting and construction.
On July 28th, Pure Energy filed a NI compliant 43-101 Inferred Resource report (warning 100 pages +) on the Company's Clayton Valley, Nevada, lithium brine deposit. Please explain its importance.
Yes, this is a key milestone for our Company. The report outlines a NI 43-101 compliant Inferred Resource estimate of 816,000 tonnes of LCE present as easily-extractable brine in two aquifers beneath the Company's 8,004 acres of claims. We are extremely pleased with this report and believe this deposit to be one of the more important lithium exploration opportunities globally due to its size and location in Nevada.
To advance Clayton Valley to an Inferred Resource, we completed an intensive exploration program including drilling new boreholes to a maximum depth of 970 feet, (296 m). All boreholes drilled encountered lithium-brines, however, they did not encounter the base of the lithium-bearing zones. Thus, the zones that host the brines appear to extend much deeper into the basin and extend laterally, throughout the whole 8,000 acres claim area. As a result, we believe that the Inferred Resource of 816,000 tonnes was estimated using conservative parameters. Pumping tests show that the brine can be sustainably pumped at rates equivalent to those used at Albemarle's adjacent Silver Peak property.
[NOTE: From the July 28th press release] CEO Mintak states, ‘This initial resource estimate is an important step in validating Clayton Valley and its potential. The estimate is based on an average thickness of just 300 meters. The next drilling stages will test the depth and potential extension of the deposit and test recently discovered zones from our seismic survey. This is a very exciting time for us as we successfully complete key milestones on our resource on-time and on-budget and are able to communicate the tremendous potential of this resource.'
