Infinity Lithium Corporation is charging ahead with fieldwork at its San José lithium project in Spain as it prepares to lodge an exploitation concession application (ECA) for the operation with local authorities.
The company says its recent work will support its environmental impact assessment (EIA) that will form part of its ECA and support the mining and processing of the 111-million-tonne orebody grading 0.61 per cent lithium oxide. The recent work includes geophysical surveys and sampling campaigns in areas identified for tailings storage facilities, in addition to updated hydrogeological modelling based on water data obtained from pre-existing bores.
Infinity says it has also completed a lithium characterisation sampling program, water and soil sampling campaigns and hydrological studies on sources, reservoirs and springs around the project area. The company says all of that work is required for a robust ECA, which it hopes to submit as soon as possible following the resolution of delays in the administrative process within the regulatory body that is part of the Regional Government of Extremadura.
In November last year, the Cáceres Local Government deemed the operation compatible with local urban legislative requirements. Management says that tick-of-approval will be incorporated into the ECA to bolster its application – and the company will no doubt be keen to get the ball rolling as San José hosts one of Europe’s leading hard-rock lithium deposits.
Infinity is proposing to construct a fully-integrated mining and downstream processing project to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) from run-of-mine (ROM) feedstock.
Management says it has established the production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from San José ROM material, with more than 90 per cent recoveries reported. The saleable product will be transported via a network of sealed roads to European battery makers.
The project sits near the town of Cáceres in the region of Extremadura in the west of Spain, near the border with Portugal. Originally designed as an open-pit mine, it will now be progressed as an underground operation accessed via a tunnel at the beneficiation plant and will deliver no visual, audible or vibration-based effects to the people of Cáceres.
In the meantime, Infinity is chipping away at its environmental studies to ensure a robust application to the regulator, which the company hopes will soon kick-off 2024 by cutting the red-tape and allow it to reap the rewards for its hard work.
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By Andrew Duffy
