Triangle Lithium LLC Announces Kickoff of Antofalla Drilling Campaign

CATAMARCA, Argentina, March 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Triangle Lithium LLC is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Triangle Lithium Argentina, SA ("Trila"), a joint venture with Lithium Energi Argentina, SA ("LEA"), has finalized and executed all the contracts required to kick off its drilling campaign (the "Campaign") in the Antofalla Salar in Catamarca Province, Argentina. Work will commence in the next ten days.

Trila finalized the execution of contracts with Dorado Exploraciones y Servicios, a mining services contractor owned by the former Secretary of Mines ("SEM") for Catamarca Province, Rodolfo Micone.  Resulting from relationships derived during his many years as the head of SEM, Sr. Micone is one of the most well-known mining industry experts in the region and has hand-picked the "best of the best" for the subcontractor group being engaged for the implementation of the Campaign. Central to the sub-contracting group is Hidrotec, SRL, perhaps the most experienced salar drilling company in Argentina.

The Campaign will initially undertake 2,400 meters of drilling in six "diamantinas," narrow diameter, core holes drilled with diamond drill bits to obtain and extract physical cores samples. The average total depth ("TD") per well is anticipated to be 400 meters; however deeper horizons may also be explored based on real-time field results. The core samples will reveal porosity, permeability, and chemical analysis critical for development planning and resource valuation. Core samples are planned for analysis at Geosystems Analysis, Inc. in Tucson, Arizona, one of the foremost analytical laboratories in the world for analyzing lithium brine core samples.

After tagging bottom at TD, packer tests will be conducted from bottom hole up to surface to obtain sizable quantities of brine. Brine sample analysis will be conducted at Alex Stewart Laboratories to yield a complete spectroscopic analysis of brine chemistry and lithium concentrations.

In addition, a minimum of 10,000 gallons of brine obtained during the Campaign will be sent to Triangle's technology provider, International Battery Metals ("IBAT"), to run through its direct lithium (DLE) extraction plant to determine verifiable lithium extraction rates and other critical determinations. Moreover, these tests will enable IBAT to tailor its modular DLE plant for the particular chemistry of Trila's properties in Antofalla for maximum efficiency and efficacy.

The Antofalla basin is a long, narrow, fault-based graben – identified as one of the world's largest entrapment depressions hosting lithium-bearing brine – and its total depth is not well known. Published data from drilling campaigns executed by other exploration companies on claims near the JV's claims in the Antofalla Salar have reportedly yielded indications of significant volumes of lithium-bearing brine with concentrations ranging from 350 to 650 ppm.

Trila has engaged a highly-experienced team to plan, execute, and analyze the Campaign, including qualified persons ("QP") designated to govern the sampling and testing protocols. Australian QP Murray Brooker, a well-known professional with many years of hands-on salar drilling knowledge in Argentina, will lead those aspects of the Campaign. Based on field results obtained during the Campaign, Trila may elect to expand the Campaign to include multiple rotary wells, which are larger diameter wells suited for implementation of long-term pumping tests that are requisite to determining the drawdown and recharge rates related to brine extraction from the subterranean aquifers. At its conclusion and based on the data obtained from the core samples and pump tests, the Campaign is expected to yield an NI. 43-101 resource estimate, which the company believes could be ready for publication in Q4 of 2022.

Triangle's CEO, Ali Rahman, remarked that "We are proud beyond words to have assembled, in record time, a world-class team to undertake this initial drilling campaign in the Antofalla Salar. And we are confident that once undertaken, the Campaign will yield results that validate our belief that Antofalla is one of the world's great lithium resources."

Sorcia Metal Corporation CEO and Triangle's Chairman, Daniel Layton, stated that "With our ability to utilize Sorcia's IBAT technology license, we see the potential for actual lithium production as achievable in our near-term horizon, possibly as early as Q1 2023, emerging right when the world needs these commodities the most."

Triangle Founder and Board Member Harry Sargeant III added that "Triangle looks forward to playing a key role in helping secure the critical strategic natural resources necessary to keep America at the forefront of the energy transition. American private enterprise has an essential role in ensuring our country's green energy independence."

For more information visit https://trianglelithium.com

Contact:
Ali Rahman, CEO
[email protected]
(202) 251-6635

SOURCE Triangle Lithium LLC