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American Lithium Corp(LI-X)
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There May Not Be Enough Lithium Supply to Meet Global Demand

BayStreet.ca - Wed May 3, 2023

Lithium demand could go into overdrive, especially with electric vehicle sales set to accelerate. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), “Global sales of electric cars are set to surge to yet another record this year, expanding their share of the overall car market to close to one-fifth.” In addition, the IEA noted, “The new edition of the IEA’s annual Global Electric Vehicle Outlookshows that more than 10 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2022 and that sales are expected to grow by another 35% this year to reach 14 million.” That’s all positive news for companies such as Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA) (OTCQB: USHAF), Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC) (TSX: LAC), American Lithium Corp. (NASDAQ: AMLI) (TSXV: LI), and Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL).

Also, according to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, there’s not enough lithium go around for the industry’s plans. “We know that we need lithium. We know that we are not producing as much as we need. We have right now 1.3 billion cars (that are) internal combustion engine powered on the planet. We need to replace that with clean mobility. That will need a lot of lithium. Not only the lithium may not be enough, but the concentration of the mining of lithium may create other geopolitical issues,” he said, as quoted by The Detroit News.

Look at Usha Resources Ltd. (TSXV: USHA) (OTCQB: USHAF), For Example

Usha Resources Ltd., a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of drill-ready battery and precious metal projects, is pleased to announce that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture, the Company has executed five (5) options with 2758145 Ontario Ltd. of Atikokan, Ontario, for the right to purchase an undivided 100% interest in five (5) additional lithium pegmatite projects located in Ontario: the “Lee Lake”, “Mead”, “Bluett”, “Gathering Lake” and “Triangle Lake” Projects.

“We are very pleased to be able to add such quality projects to our growing portfolio of hard-rock lithium assets,” said Deepak Varshney, CEO of Usha Resources. “Each of these properties has the technical merit to be the next major discovery in Ontario’s growing lithium hotbed. As we leverage our experience and initial success at Jackpot Lake to help drive friendly terms for these latest acquisitions, our Australian relationships and on-going discussions are also heating up with the shared belief that all of our Canadian assets, including White Willow, can develop into successful and fiscally prudent partnerships that benefit our shareholders and move these projects forward while carefully managing our share structure.”

The acquisition of these assets is a continuation of the Company’s strategy to build an accretive portfolio of highly complementary hard-rock assets to its 100% owned flagship Jackpot Lake Lithium Brine Project (“Jackpot Lake”), where the Company is presently undertaking its maiden drill program with the goal of defining a 43-101 resource. On April 12, 2023, the Company reported the highest lithium grades ever at the Project, assaying 820 ppm Li, with an average of 334 ppm Li in thirty samples collected from shallow surface soils (<500 ft), at over four times the reported historical average, comparing very favourably to the reported average of 100 ppm for the Esmeralda Formation, one of the potential sources of the lithium enrichment for the brines present in Clayton Valley which hosts Albemarle’s Silver Peak Lithium Brine Mine, the only producing lithium operation in the United States.

The Company is presently awaiting results from the limited drilling completed as part of the first hole at Jackpot Lake and will shortly resume drilling to 2,000 feet in order to complete well installation to the bottom of the basin and sampling of the higher-porosity sand and conglomerate zone that is the focus for expansion in Clayton Valley and where the Company believes the best potential brines may be present.

“This summer will be a very busy time for the Company as we complete the initial two drill holes at Jackpot Lake and begin exploration of our hard rock assets,” Varshney continued. “With a working capital of approximately 3 million, limited costs remaining at Jackpot Lake as we progress towards a maiden 43-101 lithium brine resource estimate, and the flexibility to potentially partner with strategic companies from Australia on our lithium pegmatite assets, Usha is well positioned to advance and grow from our market capitalization of just over 12 million today.”

Portfolio Highlights

- USHA has optioned 5 properties totalling 13,408 hectares, bringing its lithium property portfolio in Ontario to 7 properties covering 29,088 hectares.

- USHA is now positioned within four (4) additional major lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatite districts in Ontario with strong geological potential in addition to its district-scale White Willow Lithium-Tantalum Project (15,680 hectares) where it has almost 200 pegmatites and already has a confirmed fertile LCT pegmatite system bearing high-grade coarse-grained tantalite only known to be found at one other locality in Ontario which is the North Aubrey pegmatite at Green Technology Metals (GT1) Seymour Lake Project where GT1 has identified a 9.9 Mt resource at 1.04% Li2O (see the Company’s news release dated March 28, 2023).

- Gathering Lake and Triangle Lake: 8,938 hectares collectively within the prolific Georgia Lake pegmatite field, east of Rock Tech Lithium’s Georgia Lake Deposit, which hosts a 10.6 Mt indicated resource at 0.88% Li2O and 4.22 Mt inferred resource at 1.04% Li2O, and Imagine Lithium’s Jackpot Discovery which has identified 25.5 metres at 1.21% Li2O. Lithium occurrences in this field run along a primary fault which runs through Triangle Lake and is adjacent to Gathering Lake, suggesting that the mapped pegmatites on these properties may be highly fractionated LCT-pegmatites that bear spodumene.

- Lee Lake: 2,476 hectares adjacent to the west of GT1’s North Seymour Lake Claims and approximately 10 kilometres northwest of the Seymour Lake Project which hosts a 9.9 Mt resource at 1.04% Li2O. Lee Lake is within the same greenstone belt that is host to Seymour Lake and is adjacent to the claim block that will be a focus in 2023 for expansion by GT1 to make new proximal lithium discoveries and strategically grow the resource base for Seymour.

- Mead: 1,001 hectares adjacent on both east/west boundaries to Brunswick Resources’ Hearst Project, where it has an on-going drill program to assess the spodumene-bearing Decoy pegmatite and other pegmatites along trend to the west/southwest towards the Mead Property up to 2 kilometres from the claim boundary. Mead is located within the same granite-sedimentary belt as Decoy, and aerial imagery has confirmed the presence of outcropping pegmatites at Mead on trend with Decoy, suggesting the potential that this project may contain highly fractionated LCT-pegmatites that bear spodumene.

- Bluett: 993 hectares adjacent to Critical Resources Limited’s Mavis Lake Project, where it has already drilled over 20,000 metres and is drilling a further 20,000 metres in 2023 to define a maiden resource. Bluett is confirmed to have pegmatite dykes in both drill core and outcrops and is along a major subprovince boundary, demonstrating strong potential that this project may contain highly fractionated LCT-pegmatites that bear spodumene.

Other related developments from around the markets include:

Albemarle Corporation, a global leader in providing essential elements for mobility, energy, connectivity and health, announced that it will release its first-quarter 2023 earnings after the NYSE closes on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. The company will hold its conference call to discuss first-quarter 2023 results on Thursday, May 4, at 9:00 a.m. ET. This call will be webcast and can be accessed through Albemarle Corporation's website at http://investors.albemarle.com.

Lithium Americas and Arena Minerals Inc. announced the completion of the previously announced plan of arrangement whereby Lithium Americas has acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Arena. Arena owns 65% of the Sal de la Puna project covering approximately 13,200 hectares of the Pastos Grandes basin located in Salta, Argentina. "With the completion of the acquisition, we have taken a big step towards consolidating the Pastos Grandes basin,” said John Kanellitsas, Vice Chairman of Lithium Americas. “While our focus remains on near-term startup of production at Caucharí-Olaroz, the addition of Arena provides increased flexibility as we continue to advance our growth plans in Argentina.”

American Lithium Corp. announces it has filed an independent National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Tonopah Lithium Claims project located in the Esmerelda lithium district northwest of Tonopah, Nevada. Highlights of the PEA were previously announced on February 1, 2023. The PEA and accompanying Technical Report were completed by DRA Global and Stantec Consulting Services Inc. and demonstrate that the TLC project has the potential to become a substantial, long-life producer of low-cost, high purity lithium carbonate.

Piedmont Lithium, a leading global developer of lithium resources, reported the results of a Definitive Feasibility Study of the Company’s proposed Tennessee Lithium project in McMinn County, Tennessee. The Study of the 30,000 metric ton per year lithium hydroxide plant featuring the innovative and waste-reducing Metso:Outotec conversion technology affirms the potential for Piedmont to develop an American-based lithium hydroxide business using spodumene concentrate from market sources, including via existing offtake agreements with Sayona Quebec and Atlantic Lithium.

Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Usha Resources Ltd. paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services to be distributed by Winning Media. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Winning Media owns ZERO shares of Usha Resources Ltd. Please click here for disclaimer.

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