About the Rio Grande Project
NOA controls a 100% interest in approximately 37,000 hectares of claims located at the Rio Grande Salar in Salta Province, Argentina. It is approximately 70 km from the Company’s Arizaro Project and 250 km from its Salinas Grandes Project.
The salar is known to host lithium-bearing brines with production potential. NOA and Pluspetrol Resource Corporation (“Pluspetrol”), a multi-billion dollar private company, are the two largest claimholders on the salar. Pluspetrol acquired LSC Lithium Corporation (“LSC”) in 2019, which at the time of acquisition had an inferred resource at the Rio Grande salar of 2.2 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”) at a grade of 374 mg/l lithium (“Li”). Based on existing drilling, which has been relatively shallow, the LSC resource only considers the top 100 m from surface in its calculations. Certain applicable studies now indicate brine potential down to 500 m. All of NOA’s claim blocks are adjacent to Pluspetrol’s.
Location & Infrastructure
Located at approximately 3,600 metres above sea level, the geological environment at the Rio Grande Salar is similar to other salars in the Puna region where lithium and potash are found.
The Rio Grande Project is situated close to the railway, adjacent to Provincial Route 27, and 185 km south of Provincial Route 51, the international road that connects to Chile’s coastal ports. It is 50 km away from the Caipe international railway station. The InterAndes power corridor runs within a few kilometres of the salar.
Pluspetrol owns the most advanced lithium resource development project on the salar, and its claims are adjacent to claims belonging to NOA. NOA’s claims are located in the west, north and eastern sides of the salar covering both the surface salar and the alluvial fans (salar under cover).
Exploration Program
To date, NOA Lithium Brines has made substantial investments in exploration and claims acquisition, which highlight the Company's commitment to unlocking the full potential of its lithium projects and advancing toward commercial production. The Company has made significant progress in the project and released the maiden resource less than 12 months after being listed. Since then, the maiden resource has been doubled to the current 4.7 million tonnes of LCE at 525 mg/L lithium concentration. For details of the latest work program and results, please refer to the News Releases and Presentations.