Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/1190748
52 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 CYPRESS DEVELOPMENT CORP. [CYP- TSXV; CYDVF-OTCQB], having completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on their 100%-owned (3% roy- alty) flagship lithium Claystone Project in the Clayton Valley in southwest Nevada, is now advancing to the Preliminary Feasibility Stage (PFS). The Clayton Valley Lithium Project is located immediately east of the Albemarle Corp. [ALB-NYSE] Silver Peak Mine, North America's only producing lithium brine operation. Exploration by Cypress on its Dean and Glory claim blocks has discovered an extensive deposit of lithium- bearing claystone adjacent to the brine field to the east and south of Angel Island, an outcrop of Paleozoic carbonates pro- truding up through the lakebed sediments. In September 2018, independent con- sultants Global Resource Engineering (GRE) prepared a PEA where it reported an updated total Indicated Resource of 3.835 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equiv- alent (LCE) contained in 831 million tonnes averaging 867 ppm Li and an Inferred Resource of 5.126 million tonnes of LCE contained in 1.12 billion tonnes averaging 860 ppm Li. The Clayton Valley deposit remains open at depth with 21 of 23 drill holes ending in lithium mineralization. In their study, GRE used a conventional approach in processing. The consultant developed a production schedule that targeted only a small fraction of total resources on the 5,700-acre property. As can be seen from the figures below, the project has healthy economics with potential to generate significant cash flow. PEA Highlights (After-Tax US $): Net Present Value is calculated at $1.45 billion at an 8% discount rate with a 32.7% Internal Rate of Return on after-tax cash flow. The lithium carbonate price of $13,000/tonne is based on a Benchmark Research market study. Average annual production rate is forecast at 24,042 tonnes of lithium carbonate over a 40-year mine life. Operating cost estimate averages $3,983/tonne of lithium carbonate. Net lithium recovery would be 81.5%. Currently, a PFS is being prepared that is nearing completion with the metallurgi- cal part already completed. Test work has identified a commercially viable process based on filtration that can be taken from the lab benchtop studies to operational scale. The company is also simplifying the leaching process flowsheet and working to obtain water rights. Cypress CEO, Dr. Bill Willoughby, told Resource World, "Cypress has established one of the largest lithium resources in North America and the Cypress team is moving this resource towards commercial production. The United States is home to a variety of important players in the battery and electric vehicle sector and is an epicen- ter for innovation. Cypress' Clayton Valley Project has the potential to deliver the critical raw material that will be needed by every North American automaker in order to compete." n Infill drilling at the Cypress Development Claystone Project in the Clayton Valley of southwest Nevada. Photo courtesy Cypress Development Corp. Cypress Development preparing Nevada lithium PFS by Ellsworth Dickson