Name of the Project
Sonora lithium project.

Location
Sonora state, Mexico.

Project Owner/s
Bacanora Lithium.

Bacanora recently become a subsidiary of Ganfeng, as a result of a £285-million cash offer for all Bacanora's ordinary shares.

Mining royalty and streaming company Trident Royalties announced in January 2022 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire an indirect royalty over the Sonora lithium project from the estate of Bacanora founder Colin Orr-Ewing, who passed away in 2016.

Sonoroy, a joint venture company in which mining royalty and streaming company Trident Royalties holds a 50% interest, has the right to acquire the royalty for $52-million in cash.

The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2023, subject to a favourable resolution of a dispute between the estate and Bacanora.

Project Description
A feasibility study on the project has confirmed the positive economics and favourable operating costs of 35 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate.

The project has measured and indicated mineral resources estimated at five-million tonnes comprising 1.9-million tonnes of measured resources and 3.1-million tonnes of indicated resources of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), and an additional inferred mineral resource of 3.7-million tonnes of LCE.

The feasibility study envisages an openpit operation using continuous miners to mine the ore zones and a truck-and-shovel fleet to remove the waste material. An estimated 37.1-million tonnes of ore will be mined over the planned 19-year mine life, with a lithium grade of 4 151 parts per million and an average stripping ratio of about 3.4:1 over the life-of-mine.

The process plant has been designed to initially process 1.1-million tonnes a year of ore during Stage 1 of the project, subsequently increasing to an estimated 2.2-million tonnes a year at Stage 2 and producing 17 500 t/y and 35 000 t/y of lithium carbonate respectively.

The plant design also includes a circuit to produce up to 30 000 t/y of potassium sulphate and/or sulphate of potash product through a series of evaporation and precipitation stages.

Potential Job Creation
The company continues to develop its community engagement strategy on the education, training and development of the local workforce as the project transitions through the development stage into operations in 2023.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The feasibility study estimates a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.25-billion and an internal rate of return of 26.1%, with a simple payback Stage 1 of four years.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 of the project is expected to cost about $419.62-million and Stage 2 $380.26-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The JV partners are aiming to start production in 2023.

Latest Developments
Trident has reported that, at the current lithium carbonate equivalent spot price of about $55 000/t, Trident expects the Sonora project, following completion, to deliver revenue of $14.4-million a year, which will double when the project advances to its second stage.

Trident will further benefit from potassium sulphate (potash) by-product revenues at Sonora, providing a new commodity exposure to a high-value fertiliser product.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Ganfeng (EPC).

Contact Details for Project Information
Bacanora Minerals, tel +1 403 237 6122, fax +1 403 237 6144 or email info@bacanoraminerals.com.