Century Lithium Files Feasibility Study Report for Clayton Valley Project
Century Lithium has announced the filing of the "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Feasibility Study of the Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA." The report, dated April 29, 2024, supports the disclosure in the company's news release from the same date. It was prepared by Wood Canada Limited, Global Resource Engineering, Ltd. (GRE), and WSP USA Environment and Infrastructure, Inc., in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101).
"Century Lithium is pleased to file the report on the Feasibility Study of our Clayton Valley Lithium Project," said Bill Willoughby, President, and CEO. "The Report is the culmination of the dedicated work of our team of employees and consultants and highlights the economic benefits of the Project made possible by Century's unique use of chlor-alkali and direct lithium extraction processing. The filing of the report now marks another major milestone for the Company."
Key Financial Metrics
Using a base case price of $24,000 per tonne of lithium carbonate, the project's after-tax cash flow has a 17.2% Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and a $3.16 billion Net Present Value (NPV) at an 8% discount rate.
The Mineral Resource and Reserve Estimates were updated for the report using data from 45 core holes drilled between 2017 and 2022, with an effective date of April 29, 2024. The Measured and Indicated Resource Estimate is 1,138.59 million tonnes with an average grade of 966 ppm lithium, containing 1.099 million tonnes of lithium or 5.852 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). The Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate includes 287.65 million tonnes with an average grade of 1,149 ppm lithium, containing 0.330 million tonnes of lithium or 1.759 million tonnes of LCE.
Century's Clayton Valley Project focuses on mining and processing a large, flat-lying lithium claystone deposit. The mineral reserves are sufficient to support a mine life of approximately 40 years. Mining will involve mechanized surface excavation of claystone at rates of 7,500 to 22,500 tonnes per day of mill feed, and 13,000 to 39,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate. Lithium recovery will use Century's patent-pending process combining chloride leaching with direct lithium extraction to produce marketable battery-quality lithium carbonate on-site.
