Galan Lithium’s Catalina acquisition could provide big boost to lithium carbonate resource

Galan Lithium (ASX: GLN) has reported that its acquisition last month of the disputed Catalina property in Argentina is expected to result in the company’s lithium carbonate resource being increased by between 500,000 tonnes and 1.5Mt.

In late July Galan announced a breakthrough that gave it 100% ownership of the disputed Catalina lithium project in Argentina, ground which for more than 100 years has been the subject of a border dispute between Catamarca and Salta provinces.

This newly acquired tenure overlaps with 5,954 hectares of the company’ flagship Hombre Muerto West lithium project which is located in Catamarca province.

The company now says that data from exploration validates the positive prospectivity of the consolidated area.

Remains open at depth

Galan’s well PS-01, located about 500m south of the newly consolidated area, contains lithium oxide grades ranging between 953 milligrams per litre and 988mg/L.

It has an explored depth of 300m and remains open at depth.

The company acquired Catalina through bypassing the dispute between the Catamarca and Salta provincial authorities over in whose territory Catalina sits.

This was done by negotiating directly with the owner of Catalina and reaching agreement by which Galan moved to 100% ownership in return for 9.76 million shares in the Australian company.

Apart from its lithium potential, the consolidated tenure is an area favourable for future pond construction, the company says.

Galan completed field campaign at flagship project

In June, a team of structural geologists completed a field campaign at the Hombre Muerto West project.

The main aim was to map the structural controls of the regional geology to build a geological model and create a detailed geologic map of Galan’s northern fractured rock domain.

Four fault zones were defined from the collection of bedrock measurements, geomorphological analyses and syntheses of previous drilling results.

‘Exceptional’ conditions for lithium

The preliminary results indicate that the recently consolidated Catalina tenure forms part of the fractured rock domain, affected by major faulting and factures allowing the brine resource to infill this secondary porosity.

Managing director Juan Pablo Vargas de la Vega said exploration has begun on the new tenure ground.

“Our geological and hydrological information has identified this new target as an exciting opportunity to increase our actual resource footprint, providing exceptional conditions for both brine quality and productive yield,” he added.