Bacanora Minerals Ltd Operations Update (8262L)

TIDMBCN

RNS Number : 8262L

Bacanora Minerals Ltd

06 October 2016

6 October 2016

Bacanora Minerals Ltd

("Bacanora" or the "Company")

Operations Update

Bacanora, the London and Canadian listed (AIM: BCN and TSX-V: BCN) lithium exploration and development company focused on Sonora, Mexico, is pleased to provide an update regarding the operational progress made at the Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico ('Sonora' or 'the Project'). A Feasibility Study ('FS') at the Project, led by its experienced lithium team, is on track to be delivered in late Q1 2017 in line with Bacanora's strategy to independently develop Sonora into a world class lithium carbonate operation, with previously announced attractive production economics.

Recent Developments:

-- Successfully completed a 4,000 metre infill drilling programme focused on upgrading a portion of the current Mineral Resource from the Indicated to Measured category, in conjunction with geotechnical and hydrological drilling for the FS

o Sonora currently has a large Indicated Resource currently comprised of 259 Mt averaging 3,200 ppm Li for 4.5 Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE(1) ")

-- SRK Exploration has started to update the resource model and an updated Resource is anticipated to be published in Q4 2016 sequential with the commencement of mine planning and open pit designs for the FS

-- Ongoing refinement and optimisation of the lithium carbonate flow sheet, developed at the pilot plant operations in Hermosillo, will continue over the next 18 months

o Benefits Bacanora by ensuring that operator training programmes are maintained during the construction of the full scale plant, thereby minimizing potential delays during project commissioning

-- Battery grade lithium carbonate samples from the pilot plant have been distributed to Japan for preliminary appraisal and testing by potential end-users

o Facilitates a positive dialogue between customers and Bacanora's technical team during the ongoing lithium carbonate flow sheet optimisation process

o Continued strategic focus on the larger lithium carbonate supply chain in Asia, rather than the smaller lithium hydroxide market

Bacanora CEO Peter Secker said, "The Sonora Lithium Project has demonstrated its potential to deliver high grade lithium carbonate to the market with operating costs which could position it very favorably in comparison to its peers. The team continues to prove that it has the lithium operations and mine development expertise to attain key milestones and incrementally build project and shareholder value, something recognised by the Company's institutional backing."

"We have demonstrated our ability to produce battery grade lithium carbonate at our wholly-owned pilot plant in Hermosillo, Mexico and also confirmed that the deposit is both long life and scalable, positioning it to supply the rapidly growing market for lithium carbonate, at a comparatively low cost, for over 20 years. The continued growth of the electric vehicle, combined with the commercial developments being made in delivering large-scale renewable energy storage capacity makes the lithium carbonate market a compelling place to do business. Accordingly, our in-house operations, both current and future, are dedicated to ensuring that we secure the right development path to deliver the best possible product at the lowest possible price."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

Footnotes:

[1] LCE is the industry standard terminology for, and is equivalent to, Li(2) CO(3) . 1 ppm Li metal is equivalent to 5.32 ppm LCE / Li(2) CO(3.) . Use of LCE is to provide data comparable with industry reports and assumes complete conversion of lithium in clays with no recovery or process losses.

For further information, please contact:

 
 Bacanora Minerals        Peter Secker, CEO              [e-mail] 
  Ltd. 
-----------------------  -----------------------------  -------------------------- 
 Cairn Financial 
  Advisers LLP,           Sandy Jamieson/Liam                           +44 (0) 20 
  Nomad                    Murray                                        7148 7900 
-----------------------  -----------------------------  -------------------------- 
 Numis Securities 
  Ltd,                    John Prior/James Black/Paul                   +44 (0) 20 
  Broker                   Gillam                                        7260 1000 
-----------------------  -----------------------------  -------------------------- 
 St Brides Partners,      Frank Buhagiar/ Elisabeth                     +44 (0) 20 
  Financial PR Adviser     Cowell                                        7236 1177 
-----------------------  -----------------------------  -------------------------- 
 

ABOUT BACANORA:

Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed minerals explorer (TSX-V: BCN and AIM: BCN). The Company explores and develops industrial mineral projects, with a primary focus on lithium. The Sonora Lithium Project, which consists of ten mining concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and exploration work to date, has established an Indicated Mineral Resource (in accordance with NI 43-101) of 4.5 million tonnes (LCE) and 2.7 million tonnes Inferred. A PFS completed in Q1 2016 demonstrated the attractive economics associated with becoming a 35,000 tpa lithium carbonate and 50,000 tpa SOP producer in Mexico. The Company is led by a team with lithium expertise which have proven mine development, construction and operational experience.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

UPDDMMGGGKMGVZZ

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 06, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)