Condor Energies Inc. (“Condor” or the “Company”), a Canadian based energy transition company is pleased to announce that the Government of Kazakhstan has awarded the Company a contiguous 37,300-hectare lithium brine mining license in Kazakhstan (the “First Lithium License”). Condor holds the 100% working interest in the First Lithium License for a six-year term.
A prior well drilled in the First Lithium License for hydrocarbon exploration encountered and tested brine deposits with lithium concentrations of 67 milligrams per litre in Carboniferous-aged intervals as reported by the Ministry of Geology of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A 670-meter column of tested and untested brine reservoir has been identified from historical wireline log and core data. This well also penetrated the very top of the Devonian-aged sediments and reservoir sands were encountered but not tested.
Condor previously entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement for a separate lithium brine mining license (the “Second Lithium License”) with a state-owned entity (the “Seller”) and the Company is awaiting final approval from the Government of Kazakhstan to complete the acquisition. A prior well drilled in the Second Lithium License for hydrocarbon exploration encountered and tested brine deposits with lithium concentrations of up to 130 milligrams per litre in Devonian and Carboniferous-aged intervals as reported by the Ministry of Geology of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A 1000-meter column of tested and untested brine reservoir has been identified from historical wireline log and core data. Condor will hold a 95% working interest in the Second Lithium License and operate and be responsible for funding all activities while the Seller will maintain a 5% carried working interest. The Second Lithium License was originally assigned to the Seller on April 3, 2019, for a six-year term and provides the subsurface exploration rights for solid minerals on a contiguous 6800-hectare area.
The lithium licenses are strategically located between Europe and China, providing direct access to existing and robust lithium markets. The Company intends to produce the lithium by utilizing closed-looped Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) technologies. Given that the Company’s Lithium Licenses are not associated with legacy oil wells nor any reported presence of hydrogen sulphide, a less complex and capital intensive modular DLE technology is envisioned for the separation of lithium from the brine when compared with lithium extraction projects targeting oilfield brines. By applying proven DLE production technologies, the Company expects to have a much smaller environmental footprint than existing lithium production operations which use open-pit mining or brine evaporation ponds. The Company is also evaluating the construction of a renewable power generation project to achieve net-zero emissions for its lithium production.
The Company’s initial development plan over the next twelve months includes drilling and testing two wells to verify deliverability rates, confirm the lateral extension and concentrations of lithium in the tested and untested intervals, conduct preliminary engineering for the production facilities, and prepare a mineral resources or mineral reserves report compliant with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (the “Mineral Report”). Procurement of long-lead equipment and contracting a drilling rig is underway.
The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves as additional drilling and testing is necessary, and a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. It is uncertain if further drilling will result in the area being delineated as a mineral resource or reserve. Readers should similarly not rely on the historical lithium concentration estimate for the Lithium License as indicative of the actual lithium concentration or the likelihood that the Company will be able achieve similar production results.