Apr 21 2016
Critical Elements Corporation ("Critical Elements" or the "Company") is please to initiate environmental activities related to the Rose Lithium-Tantalum Mining project.
The following activities are scheduled to start in the next few weeks:
- Drafting of the project descriptions to be submitted to both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) and MDDELCC.
- Bird fauna inventories to complement the currently available information on migratory birds, especially shorebirds, raptors and waterfowl.
- Sampling of the herpetofauna by installing automatic recording stations to record frog calls to establish a list of species that use the site.
Others inventories and survey are plan to be completed during the summer period of 2016.
These works are part of the feasibility study and will be complete by WSP Canada Inc.
Jean-Sébastien Lavallée (OGQ #773), geologist, shareholder and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.
About Critical Elements Corporation
A recent financial analysis (Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Rose lithium-tantalum Project, Genivar, December 2011) of the Rose project based on price forecasts of US$260/kg ($118/lb) for Ta2O5 contained in a tantalite concentrate and US$6,000/t for lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) showed an estimated after-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 25% for the Rose project, with an estimated Net Present Value (NPV) of CA$279 million at an 8% discount rate. The payback period is estimated at 4.1 years. The pre-tax IRR is estimated at 33% and the NPV at $488 million at a discount rate of 8%. (Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability). (The preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature). (See press release dated November 21, 2011.)
The conclusions of the PEA indicate the operation would support a production rate of 26,606 tons of high purity (99.9% battery grade) Li2CO3 and 206,670 pounds of Ta2O5 per year over a 17-year mine life.
The project hosts a current Indicated resource of 26.5 million tonnes of 1.30% Li2O Eq. or 0.98% Li2O and 163 ppm Ta2O5 and an Inferred resource of 10.7 million tonnes of 1.14% Li2O Eq. or 0.86% Li2O and 145 ppm Ta2O5.