HIGHLIGHTS
· Lithium recoveries improved to 95%
· Ongoing development of Cinovec Project
· Appointment of COO (post reporting period)
European Metals Holdings Ltd (LON:EMH) has today reported on its activities and continued progress in the development of the globally significant Cinovec Lithium / Tin Project in Czech Republic during the three month period ending March 2018.
LITHIUM RECOVERIES IMPROVED TO 95%
On 28 March 2018, European Metals reported on the preliminary results received from its ongoing metallurgical optimisation and ore variability testwork program.
Highlights included:
· Lithium leach recoveries of 94-95% achieved from recent laboratory scale roasting and water leaching tests.
· Confirmation that a modest increase in roasting temperature significantly increases lithium recovery.
· Confirmation that the substitution of the more cost effective reagent, limestone in place of lime did not reduce lithium recovery.
Recent metallurgical testwork has seen further roast recovery improvements on ore sourced from core taken from the area that is intended to be mined and processed in the first years of the project.
Subsequently testwork was completed whereby the more cost effective reagent limestone was substituted for lime into the roasting feed mix. A lithium recovery rate of 94.8% was achieved from this test. This finding will support the achievement of significant cost savings in this part of the flowsheet.
DEVELOPMENTS POST REPORTING PERIOD
Appointment of Chief Operating Officer
On 11 April 2018 European Metals announced the appointment of Neil Meadows as Chief Operating Officer of the Company.
Neil is an accomplished and highly regarded senior executive with a successful background in leadership in the Australian resources sector. His strategic focus, outstanding communication skills and excellent work ethic have provided him with the leadership strengths to manage multi-disciplined teams in the achievement of corporate objectives. He is result-orientated, disciplined and has gained considerable recognition for his work in improving operational and business outcomes for major enterprises.
Details of Neil’s previous positions and academic achievements are included in the announcement.
CORPORATE
Details of the performance securities on issue as at 31 March 2018 are as follows:
|
Number |
Description |
Summary Terms & Conversion Hurdles |
|
1,000,000 |
Class B Performance Shares |
Convert to Shares on a 1:1 basis upon the Company’s mineral resource at Cinovec South and Cinovec Main being entered in the State Balance. |
|
1,000,000 |
Class B Performance Shares |
Convert to Shares on a 1:1 basis upon the issuance of the preliminary mining licences relating to the Cinovec Project. |
|
3,000,000 |
Class B Performance Shares |
Convert into Shares on a 1:1 basis upon the completion of the definitive feasibility study. |
The Class B Performance Shares convert into an equal number of fully paid ordinary shares should the performance hurdles be satisfied. Full details of the terms and conversion hurdles are set out in the Remuneration Report of the 2017 Annual Report.
No Class B Performance Shares were converted or cancelled during the quarter.
TENEMENT SCHEDULE
|
Tenement |
Interest at beginning of Quarter |
Acquired/Disposed |
Interest at end of Quarter |
|
Cinovec |
100% |
N/A |
100% |
|
Cinovec 2 |
100% |
N/A |
100% |
|
Cinovec 3 |
100% |
N/A |
100% |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON CINOVEC
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Cinovec Lithium/Tin Project
European Metals, through its wholly owned Subsidiary, Geomet s.r.o., controls the mineral exploration licenses awarded by the Czech State over the Cinovec Lithium/Tin Project. Cinovec hosts a globally significant hard rock lithium deposit with a total Indicated Mineral Resource of 348Mt @ 0.45% Li2O and 0.04% Sn and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 309Mt @ 0.39% Li2O and 0.04% Sn containing a combined 7.0 million tonnes Lithium Carbonate Equivalent and 263kt of tin. An initial Probable Ore Reserve of 34.5Mt @ 0.65% Li2O and 0.09% Sn has been declared to cover the first 20 years mining at an output of 20,800tpa of lithium carbonate.
This makes Cinovec the largest lithium deposit in Europe, the fourth largest non-brine deposit in the world and a globally significant tin resource.
The deposit has previously had over 400,000 tonnes of ore mined as a trial sub-level open stope underground mining operation.
EMH has completed a Preliminary Feasibility Study, conducted by specialist independent consultants, which indicated a return post tax NPV of USD540m and an IRR of 21%. It confirmed the deposit is be amenable to bulk underground mining. Metallurgical test work has produced both battery grade lithium carbonate and high-grade tin concentrate at excellent recoveries. Cinovec is centrally located for European end-users and is well serviced by infrastructure, with a sealed road adjacent to the deposit, rail lines located 5 km north and 8 km south of the deposit and an active 22 kV transmission line running to the historic mine. As the deposit lies in an active mining region, it has strong community support.
The economic viability of Cinovec has been enhanced by the recent strong increase in demand for lithium globally, and within Europe specifically.
