Galan makes ‘great progress’ at Hombre Muerto West lithium brine project, pilot pond construction underway
Galan anticipates the lithium brine pilot ponds at HMW will be operational next quarter.
Galan Lithium (ASX: GLN) has made “great progress” at its Hombre Muerto West (HMW) lithium brine project in Argentina, with pilot pond construction underway and new drill rigs sourced to accelerate exploration.
The company has begun constructing the pilot ponds, which will be filled with HMW brine to test the evaporation process and targeted 6% lithium concentrate.
These ponds are expected to be operational in the next quarter.
Meanwhile, development of a new temporary camp at HMW is underway and should be useable early next month.
Once complete, Galan will have two fully functional camps to support ongoing activities at HMW and the nearby Candelas project where the other camp is located.
These camps will be used until a larger, permanent camp is constructed next year.
Galan managing director Juan Pablo Vargas de la Vega said he was “very excited” with the company’s “great progress” at HMW.
“Our efforts and vision are solely focused on getting the project online and becoming a lithium producer as soon as technically possible.”
“2021 has been a year of strength, transformation and consolidation for Galan and we look forward to 2022 and providing our shareholders with further value by being part of this decisive time where the world is transitioning to a cleaner global economy driven by new electric vehicles powered by lithium batteries,” Mr Vargas de la Vega added.
Accelerated drilling
To accelerate exploration at HMW, Galan has also sourced a new rig and a second one is due to arrive on site in January.
Depending on drilling progress, Galan has the option to bring in a third rig to fast-track the program further.
The drilling program is scheduled for completion in the first half of next year, with a resource update to follow shortly after.
In addition to drilling, the company has engaged Quantec Geosciences to complete a transient electromagnetics (TEM) geophysical survey across all the HMW tenements.
As well as building the resource, drilling and the TEM survey will provide key data for advancing the feasibility study on HMW, which is expected to formally start soon.
Boosted economics
Today’s announcement follows an updated economic study for HMW and Galan’s other project Candelas.
The updated study was based on a revised long-term lithium price assumption of US$18,594 per tonne between 2025 and 2040 – up from the previous figure of US$11,687/t.
With a higher assumer lithium price, the pre-tax net present value of HMW has risen 120% from US$1 billion to almost US$2.2 billion (A$3.06 billion).
Including Candelas, the NPV for both projects now totals US$3.4 billion (A$4.74 billion).