Resource World Magazine

D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 www.resourceworld.com 51 C live Ashworth and John Rud are principals of GeoXplor Corp., a company that offers exploration services and mineral prospects to explor- ers. As forerunners in the uranium boom, they also recognized the impending demise of the fossil fuel era and the emerging elec- tric vehicle (EV) revolution and focused on the energy metals sector as prospectors. Ashworth and Rud identified the Clayton Valley in southwestern Nevada, located about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, as an obvious candidate for lithium exploration. Geopolitics was also a major factor. As operators, they proved up that it was the only viable lithium brine source in North America. Clayton Valley is unique in that it is a truly closed, tectoni- cally active basin. A closed basin is needed to foster the accumulation of lithium over thousands of years. Through staking and having all claims controlled through option agreements, the team's mineral land package encom- passed almost the entire playa basin. This led to the launching of various lithium exploration projects, dropping unsuitable claims, through geophysics and drilling, the 'deposit' claims such as Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. [PE-TSXV; PEMIF-OTCQB; A11EG-FSE] whose project has a positive PEA for 40 years of lithium production. Schlumberger Technology Corp. has acquired a 19.9% interest in Pure Energy and is building a pilot plant incorporating the lithium membrane extraction tech- nologies by Tenova and Schlumberger's in-house engineers. GeoXplor holds a 3% gross over-riding royalty on the PE/ Schlumberger claims. In an interview with Resource World, Ashworth discusses the lithium sector. RESOURCE WORLD: With the elec- tric car revolution speeding up, it seems a paradox that lithium companies such as Albemarle, Orocobre and Lithium Americas have lost a great deal of share value. Is this due to oversupply? CLIVE ASHWORTH: That's the per- ception – it's more of an interruption. Where are the stockpiles? Scant. It's just a waiting game. I have been through at least five downturns in the lithium mar- ket in the past 12 years. This won't be the last. Others, and I, would have to say that the oversupply, if any, will correct by 2020/2021 simply because demand growth will outstrip supply. RW: Do you think that when the EV revolution reaches a massive scale that lith- ium stocks will do better due to increased lithium demand? CA: Yes. This is an EV revolution. Transportation alone, in all its forms, will include almost everything being electri- cally powered. Those companies that have viable lithium-oriented projects – explora- tion, development and technologies – will see tremendous success. The cliché slo- gan "The trend is your friend" applies. Just look at a demand graph for lithium. In my view, the +10% per year is very conservative. RW: What are current developments in effective lithium extraction technologies? CA: There are a number of companies doing exemplary work in this field that are focusing on everything to do with extrac- tion efficiency, marketing product and the environment. To name a few, there are, of course, Pure Energy/Schlumberger in Clayton Valley, as well as Tenova, Standard Lithium, MGX Minerals/PurLucid, Millennial Lithium, Neo Lithium, Nano One, Livnet, E3 and numerous other com- panies that have advanced their properties and technologies, all getting closer to com- mercial viability. RW: Can hard rock (spodumene) lithium mining compete with lithium brine mines? CA: No. However, if the LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent) price can sustain a $10,000.00/ton price, then 'hard rock' lithium mining is viable. Brines should always out-compete the spodumene mines, especially with the new extraction tech- nologies that include a huge accelerated production and environmental advantage. RW: There are a few research groups aiming to replace the lithium in lithium- ion batteries with different metals such as aluminum and tellurium. Can you com- ment on these developments? CA: All great work but nothing that will impact the lithium business for at least 15 to 20 years. n Lithium explorer takes a look at this burgeoning sector by Ellsworth Dickson MINING Boart Longyear drilling Hole #8 at the Pure Energy Minerals lithium property in the Clayton Valley of southwest Nevada. Photo courtesy Pure Energy Minerals Limited

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