Resource World Magazine

D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 49 where Advantage continues drilling, having inter- sected lithium brines at multiple depths on the first hole. Advantage Lithium President and CEO, David Sidoo, CEO, said, "We are the only Clayton Valley lithium junior with access to certificated water rights for the purpose of future development. Thus, hitting strongly anomalous lithium in brine results is an important step forward for our North American operations. We are very encouraged by these results and are looking for- ward to our next holes at Clayton NE." Mexico: On September 12, Advantage Lithium announced that it had entered into letter of intent to acquire an option to earn up to a 70% interest in four lithium brine exploration projects in Chihuahua, northwest Mexico from Radius Gold Inc. [RDU- TSXV]. Though the projects are early stage, historic drilling has been done and lithium brine samples recovered. Argentina: Advantage Lithium has also completed an option to acquire a 100% interest in the advanced Stella Marys Project, Salta Province. The 1,472-hectare property is located in the western sector of the Salinas Grandes salar within Argentina's Lithium Triangle. Stella Marys lies adjacent to Orocobre's Salar de Salinas Grandes lithium-potassium-boron brine proj- ect, which hosts a near-surface, low sulfate inferred resource estimate of 56.5 million cubic metres of brine grading 795 mg/l lithium (239,200 tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent and 9,547 mg/l potassium (1.03 million tonnes of potash equivalent) and 283 mg/l boron. "We've made rapid progress, hitting several impor- tant milestones in a short space of time and we plan to continue that trend," said Sidoo. "Thanks to two over- subscribed financings, we are well-funded with nearly $8 million in the bank. With our excellent technical team led by PDAC Bill Dennis award-winner, Ross McElroy, we have the capabilities to advance our port- folio of projects." Sidoo added, "The agreement with Orocobre creates an exploration company in Argentina without peer. Argentina is part of the Lithium Triangle, home to over 70 percent of the world's known reserves and Orocobre is not only one of the country's leading producers, it is one of the largest producers in the world. The deal will combine our technical excellence and ability to raise capital, with access to Orocobre's large in-country operations team. For Advantage Lithium shareholders, this agreement represents incredible value, including an unrivalled project portfolio and a genuine partner- ship with one of the world's top lithium producers." n MInERa alaMoS advancing la Fortuna toward production Following its acquisition of the La Fortuna gold project in Durango, Mexico in May 2016 for US $6.5 million, Minera Alamos Inc. [MAI- TSXV] has been taking steps to place the project into production. In an interview, Chris Frostad, CEO, explained why the company decided to go it alone. "Our company is primarily made up of mine builders," he said. "We've got a unique team of engineers, metallurgists and geologists who have built mines. This will be the fourth gold project they`ve put into production as a team over the last decade." He noted that the expected CAPEX would be about $20 million. "We've got enough money to get us through to a construction decision – probably in Q2 2017," said Frostad. "We've been in discussions with a number of family trusts, smaller resource funds and some streaming companies with regards to project financing. To raise $15 or $20 million dollars in debt financing, we`re getting the impression it's doable. It`s an amount of money that`s going to make this project more practical to get into production by the end of next year." Minera Alamos is completing permit applications and preparation of a recently acquired grinding/flotation facility ($750,000) for transport to Mexico. The previously operational processing plant is located in Val d'Or, Québec. Metallurgical testing has determined that La Fortuna gold mineraliza- tion is mainly in the form of free grains that are readily recoverable. "We view this project as a flotation operation rather than heap leach. That increased recoveries from about 65% to over 95%," said Frostad. "So rather than coming out of the gate with maybe 33 to 35,000 ounces a year, it looks like we're going to be able to get closer to 50,000 ounces a year." The company has finished its mine plan, plant design with the new facility and overall design drawings, flow sheets, etc. "In reviewing the block model, we now see that 70-75% of that resource is 3.5 to 4 grams per tonne," said Frostad. "So we're going to be mining this at a very high grade." Discussions are taking place with local landowners and residents to complete agreements for surface land use. Once these agreements are in place, permits are expected in late Q2 2017. The company has also expanded La Fortuna land position with the acquisition of over 5,200 hectares surrounding La Fortuna. The land package now encompasses over 6,200 hectares. Based on drilling, NI 43-101 compliant measured and indicated resources total 4,824,000 tonnes grading 1.99 g/t gold containing 308,100 ounces of gold. Mineralization remains open along strike and to depth. "We're expecting to release a PEA in January which we will update so that within a couple of months we'll have a full Pre-Feasibility Study around the end of February or early March," said Frostad. With the recent rise in copper prices, Minera Alamos is taking a closer look at its 100%-owned Los Verdes open pit copper-molybdenum proj- ect in Sonora, Mexico where a high-grade, open pit operation is planned with over 10 years of mine life. n miNiN g

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