SIRMAC
About Sirmac
The Sirmac Property consists of 155 mining claims (7,750 hectares) located about 180km NW of Chibougamau, in the Plan Nord Territory of the province of Québec.
A main forestry road passes near the property and vehicles can reach the main mineral occurrences on the property using secondary logging roads. In addition, a 700 kV power line runs through the property.
Nemaska Lithium completed more than $2 million of exploration work on the Sirmac Property consisting of 72 shallow drill holes (3,415m) and extensive trenching and channel sampling of the #5 Dike.
Vision Lithium completed ~3,500-metre drill program in the summer of 2022.
Acquisition
On December 14, 2017, Vision Lithium announced the signing of a definitive asset purchase agreement for a 100% undivided interest in the Sirmac Lithium Property from Nemaska Lithium Inc. Vision Lithium issued $250,000 cash payment and 15,000,000 common shares of Vision Lithium to Nemaska Lithium. Vision Lithium also assumed a pre-existing 1% Net Smelter Return (NSR) on certain claims comprising the Sirmac Property.
Claims and Location
- Vision Lithium has drilled and channel sampled the #5 Zone as well as discovered the East Zone
- Numerous other large dikes on the property represent other exploration targets and growth potential at Sirmac
- Vision will submit a bulk sample permit application for Sirmac
Excellent Infrastructure
- Lodging, Road Access, etc.
Geology
The Sirmac property is located in the North-East part of the Superior geological province, in the Frotet-Evans volcano-sedimentary belt. Four types of rocks outcrop on the Sirmac property: quartz-biotite-hornblende schists, amphibolitized flows or mafic sills, syenite pluton, and pegmatites, some of which are spodumene-bearing. The main foliation strikes E-W and has a steep dip. More than twelve granitic pegmatite dikes, whose thickness ranges from 1 to 100 m, have been identified. All of these cut the host schists and generally strike NNW-SSE (315°/350°), with an apparent sub-vertical dip and steep contacts with host rocks.
Mineralization
The type of deposit associated with the lithium mineralization of the Sirmac property is a granitic, rare element-bearing pegmatite due to the presence of spodumene. In dike #5—the known deposit—spodumene crystals are euhedral, with color and size varying from white to greenish- or grayish-white and from 1 to 30 cm in size, with an average size of 10 cm. The amount of spodumene found in the pegmatite ranges from 5 to 30% in volume. In general, the crystals are slightly altered and frequently contain rounded inclusions of quartz. A historical resource estimate was performed on the deposit by Wrightbar Mines Ltd. in 1994, with results indicating a total of 314,328 tonnes grading 2.04% Li2O.
Dike #5
Drill Program (Dike #5)
See Vision Lithium Inc., Press Release (July 19, 2018) for further information on the nature and context of the results.
Dike #5 – Bulk Sample
- Dike #5 is an excellent target for up to a 50,000 tonne bulk sample, application was submitted in November 2022
- A “mountain of lithium” which would be amenable to bulk sample in a quarry operation
- Bulk sample will provide ample material for testing mining methods and lithium concentrate processing, additional metallurgy and customer(s) evaluation
- Looking to sign multiple mineral sales agreements with end users
- Will significantly de-risk project for future mining at full scale operations
Sirmac – East Zone
- Located about 5 km from Dike #5
- Zone appears to be several hundred metres in length and hosts widespread spodumene crystals
- Excellent additional exploration target
- The property hosts a dozen pegmatite dikes, likely more, most of which have never been tested by drilling
East Zone – 2018 Channel Sampling
Historical Resource Estimate
In 2012, Nemaska Lithium conducted a successful exploration campaign. In total, 9 sites were mechanically stripped for a surface area of approximately 13,000 m2. There were 29 channels completed over 739 metres for a total of 506 samples (selected results below, for full results see the Nemaska Lithium news release dated November 5, 2012).
Also as part of the same exploration program, Nemaska Lithium completed a diamond drill campaign of 72 shallow drill holes (3,414.5 m). A total of 1,953 samples, including quality control samples (13%), were sent to the lab for assay (selected results below, for full results see the Nemaska Lithium news release dated November 13, 2012).
Drill results from this program reported multiple intersections over 2% Li2O. More specifically, Nemaska Lithium intersected mineralization of up to 2.98% Li2O. This grade approaches the grade found at the Greenbushes deposit, which is the highest grade hard rock lithium deposit in the world.
2023 NI-43-101 Mineral Resources
Mineral Resources for Sirmac Project with 0.50% Li2O Cut-Off Grade (2023):
Notes: The mineral resource estimate has been calculated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definitions Standards for mineral resources in accordance with NI 43-101. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are exclusive of the measured and indicated resources.
Vision Lithium Makes 99.99% Pure Lithium Carbonate
Diagram of lithium carbonate production
Outcrop samples and drill core samples from the 2012 and 2018 drilling programs on the main #5 dike were sent to the Lakefield laboratory of SGS Canada Inc. for a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) level metallurgical test work program. The samples were combined into one Main Composite, one High Grade Composite, and three variability samples, based on instructions provided by the Company. The metallurgical test work program included sample preparation, mineralogical analysis, grindability, magnetic separation, heavy liquid separation (HLS), dense media separation (DMS), and flotation testing.
High-grade lithium carbonate production methodology
To produce high-grade lithium carbonate, the combined pregnant leach solution (PLS) from the water leach tests (WL-1 to WL-5) was first purified by primary and secondary impurity removal steps. Further purification to >99.5% was performed by ion-exchange (IX) followed by lithium carbonate precipitation. Finally, bicarbonate polishing was conducted to achieve battery-grade purity of >99.9%.
Source: Spodumene Beneficiation And Lithium Extraction From A Sample Taken From The Sirmac Lithium Property, by bylina, M. Gladkovas, J. Brown, *M. Aghamirian and S. Ali SGS canada inc. 185 concession street, lakefield, ON, canada K0L 2H0
Lithium Carbonate Final Grade Specifications