Jan 6 2011
Lithium One Inc. (TSX VENTURE:LI), has reported continued high lithium and potassium in brines from three additional core holes at the Sal de Vida lithium and potash project at Salar del Hombre Muerto, Argentina.
The averaged values of all the brine samples from the core drilling to date, with no cut-offs applied, have increased to 745 mg/l lithium ("Li") and 8,318 mg/l potassium ("K"). Of note, hole SVH10_12 returned particularly high values, averaging 1,014 mg/l Li and 11,882 mg/l K over the entire hole. Magnesium and sulphate ratios continue to be favourably low, with an overall average of 2.4 for Mg:Li and 11.6 for SO4:Li.
Lithium One President and CEO Patrick Highsmith commented, "The drilling at Sal de Vida continues to demonstrate a stable and consistently mineralized brine. The results from hole 12 are the most significant to date and the hole is located near the center of the property. The brine chemistry is excellent in both the sand-dominated and salt-dominated aquifers; and the drilling outlines a potential resource area of more than 150 km2 so far, with a lot more salar yet to be drilled. The company remains on track to release the first NI 43-101 compliant resource during the first quarter of 2011."
Summary of Drilling
Analytical results show little variation in concentrations vertically through each individual hole and results continue to be high in lithium and potassium, with favourable magnesium-to-lithium and sulphate-to-lithium ratios.
Porosity testing on core samples collected from each hole continues at Core Laboratories in Houston, Texas. Effective (or drainage) porosities range from approximately 2% to 17% in both the halite (common salt) dominated and silt dominated portions of the basin and from 2% to more than 30% in the sand dominated areas. Beginning this quarter, the Company will commence pumping tests to determine aquifer hydraulic conductivity (permeability). The hydrologists will identify specific hydrogeologic intervals and isolate and test those zones to obtain average hydraulic conductivities, which will then be used to populate the numerical groundwater flow model.
Review by Qualified Person
The contents of this news release, analytical data, and quality control procedures have been reviewed and approved by Mr. Michael Rosko of Montgomery & Associates Water Resource Consultants (M&A). Mr. Rosko is a Registered Geologist in Arizona, California, and Texas and a qualified person (QP) as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Rosko and M&A are completely independent of Lithium One, owning no securities of any kind in the Company.