VANCOUVER, Oct. 2, 2018 /CNW/ - Rock Tech Lithium
Inc. (the "Company" or "Rock Tech") [TSX-V: RCK; Frankfurt: RJIB (WKN: A1XF0V)] is pleased to
announce the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")
at its flagship 100%-owned Georgia Lake lithium property in the
Thunder Bay Mining District of Northwest
Ontario, Canada. Rock Tech engaged DMT GmbH & Co. KG
("DMT") to complete the PEA.
The results of the PEA include a pre-tax Net Present Value
("NPV") of $312 million at a discount
rate of 8% and a pre-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 62.2%.
The PEA focused on only a portion of the Georgia Lake project
centered around an area referred to as the Nama Creek Main Zone,
excluding additional inferred resources the Company has defined on
other areas of the property as included in the updated resource
estimate disclosed on June 27, 2018
and filed on SEDAR on August 10,
2018. In the PEA, DMT covered all relevant topics for the
development of the mine and the production of spodumene
concentrate, including project infrastructure, mine design and
operations, recovery, processing and reclamation.
"The completion of the PEA is a key milestone in the development
of our Georgia Lake lithium property," said Martin Stephan, Chief Executive Officer of Rock
Tech. "We are pleased that the results confirm our optimism with
respect to the project and confirm for our shareholders that their
investments in advancing this project have been a success. Although
the PEA focused only on a portion of our NI 43-101 resource
estimate, it shows the real value of our company's assets and
proves the excellent profit potential with an expected annual
EBITDA of $64 million (CAD) which is
nearly double the current market capitalization."
Highlights from the PEA, with the base-case chemical grade
spodumene concentrate of 6.2% lithium oxide ("Li2O") price of
US$800 per tonne for the first five
years and US$850 per tonne for the
next six years and an exchange rate of $1.30
USD/CAD, are as follows (in CAD-$):
- Life of Mine Revenue is $1,136
million;
- Annual EBITDA is $64.2
million;
- Pre-production capital is $65.3;
- Sustaining capital is $62
million;
- Pre-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of $312
million and an IRR of 62.2%;
- Post-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of $210
million and an IRR of 48.1%;
- Positive cash flow is realized in Year 3 of the project;
- 11-year mine life including open pit and underground operations
for the Main Resource Zone;
- Total production of 1.1 million tonnes of chemical grade
spodumene concentrate of 6.2% Li2O (96.000 t/a).
Summary of Results:
Results
|
Unit
|
Value
|
CAPEX
|
Million
$CAD
|
65.3
|
Average LoM
Operating Costs
|
$CAD/tonne
concentrate
|
397
|
LoM
Revenue
|
Million
$CAD
|
1,136.2
|
LoM Operating
Costs
|
Million
$CAD
|
419.4
|
LoM
EBITDA
|
Million
$CAD
|
706.0
|
Annual
EBITDA
|
Million
$CAD
|
64.2
|
Pre-tax
NPV8
|
Million
$CAD
|
312.2
|
After-tax
NPV8
|
Million
$CAD
|
210.2
|
Pre-tax
IRR
|
%
|
62
|
After-tax
IRR
|
%
|
48
|
Pre-tax
Payback
|
Years
|
3.1
|
After-tax
Payback
|
Years
|
3.5
|
All scientific and technical information in this news release
was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Karl-Stephan Peters, EurGeol 787, an independent
Qualified Person to Rock Tech.
Rock Tech will file the Preliminary Economic Assessment on the
System for Electronic Document Analysis and Data Retrieval
("SEDAR") within 45 days of this news release.
About DMT GmbH & Co. KG
DMT is a global consortium, providing interdisciplinary services
in the Mining, Oil & Gas, Civil Engineering &
Infrastructure and Plant Engineering markets with a client roster
that includes Anglo American, BHP
Billiton, OMV, E.ON, Schlumberger, De Beers and leading institutes
such as The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. DMT occupies
30 offices worldwide and belongs to the German certification agency
TÜV NORD GROUP. To date, DMT has completed several thousand
projects in over 150 countries, working in over 25 countries in a
typical year.
About Rock Tech Lithium:
Rock Tech Lithium is an exploration company focused on acquiring
and exploring properties in the field of lithium. The Georgia Lake
Lithium project develops a lithium-rich pegmatite vein deposit for
the purpose of mining. The deposit was discovered in the Thunder
Bay Mining district in northwestern Ontario/Canada, close to the Lake Superior, as early as 1955. Rock Tech
Lithium has been working increasingly on the property since 2016 –
in a market environment, where the trend for electric cars on the
international market has been rising steeply for years. Analysts
expect that more than 25% of newly sold cars in 2025 will be
electrified, with the demand for batteries and therefore battery
metals such as lithium expanding rapidly.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,
"Martin Stephan"
Martin Stephan
Director, Chief Executive Officer
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Statements included in this announcement, including statements
concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not
historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified
as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements
may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes",
"intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The
Company cautions readers that forward‐looking statements, including
without limitation those relating to the Company's future
operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those indicated in the forward‐looking statements.
SOURCE Rock Tech Lithium Inc.