NeoLithica has assembled a large contiguous mineral tenure position in Alberta’s Peace region that features well developed production infrastructure.

Alberta’s ubiquitous subsurface Devonian-age carbonates have produced large volumes of oil and gas, and today those prolific reservoirs are mainly filled with brines containing relatively high concentrations of lithium and other minerals.

Through many decades of oil and gas activity, the western provinces currently possess an abundance of geological and geophysical data, detailed subsurface maps and extensive infrastructure, which benefits new lithium producers seeking to accelerate commercial development to meet rapidly increasing global demand.

The government of Alberta has recently implemented new legislation to position the province as a major contributor to the emerging global market for clean energy by introducing the Renewing Alberta's Mineral Future strategy and action plan, followed by passing and Bill 82 (the Mineral Resource Development Act) in late 2021. The Bill was drafted in collaboration with the Mineral Advisory Council, which had input from various stakeholders and Indigenous organizations.

The act provide certainty for the industry and help position the province as a critical mineral producer, thereby supporting a future low-carbon economy by spurring growth in this nascent sector.

Peace River Lithium Project

Due to the Peace Region’s significance as an energy hub, an abundance of geological and geophysical data was easily acquired resulting in minimized resource development costs. Also of great benefit to NeoLithica is the extensive human and physical infrastructure built by the oil and gas industry over many decades, including a highly skilled workforce, roads, rail, power and natural gas, well sites and pipelines.

NeoLithica recently completed its National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) Technical Report, which includes an inferred mineral resource estimate of 10 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), at an average grade of 70.0 mg/L.

Location and Culture

NeoLithica’s flagship lithium brine project is located 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, and extends from north of the Town of Peace River to the south at Grande Prairie. The area known affectionately as “Peace Country”, is well developed and features a mix of agriculture, forestry, and oil and gas and supporting industries.

Grande Prairie is the regional population and economic center in the region and is less than 50 kilometres from the south end of our mineral tenure. This rapidly growing city is serviced by a major airport and features a strong transportation infrastructure and readily available educational, industrial, governmental and social services.

The Peace River region supports extensive farming areas that are relatively flat, and the boreal forest is generally gently rolling, with forest covered hills with moderate to steep valley slopes and flatter valleys and tops. The average elevation is about 700m.

Smaller towns in the farming areas provide local labour and small-scale repairs and industrial services as well as local knowledge of the conditions of terrane, access, and weather. Several power grids pass near and across the property.

Optimal mineral tenure

NeoLithica owns a 100% undivided interest in 609,853 hectares (2,355 square miles) of Alberta Crown Metallic and Industrial Mineral permits in northern Alberta, of which 498,353 hectares (1,925 square miles) lie within its Peace River Lithium Project area. The company has the exclusive rights to all minerals, including those contained in formation brines.

The Peace River Lithium Project consists of a series of 62 contiguous Metallic and Industrial Minerals permits issued by Alberta Energy, a ministry of the Alberta Government. The permits extend a distance of over 165 kms from Township. 74, Range 4 W6M in the southwest to Township 85, Range 17 W5M in the northeast.

The major Highway 2 runs north–south within the project area, with access to the permits available at numerous points by secondary roads. The area is served by two regional airports, with the Grande Prairie airport (YQU) approximately 45 km from the southern most permits, and the Peace River Regional Airport (YEP) located close to the northernmost permits.

Extensive lithium brine aquifer

NeoLithica’s permits lie on the eastern flank of the Peace River Arch, a prominent basement structure that controlled the location and massive growth of the porous brine-filled carbonate reefs during the Devonian period.

The thick and widespread Woodbend reefs that fringe the Peace River Arch, and the underlying Beaverhill Lake platform carbonates have produced large volumes of oil and gas, in addition to massive amounts of formation water (brine). These stacked lithium-rich aquifers reach up to 300 metres in thickness.

After separation of the produced oil and gas from the brine, the brine is disposed of by re-injecting it back into the formation at a distance away from the producing wells. The elimination of the brine waste stream also serves to help maintain reservoir pressure, which increases overall recoveries.

NeoLithica has conducted a detailed geologic study within its project area, which served as the foundation for its National Instrument 43-101 technical reports.

Peace River Lithium Project Development Plan

NeoLithica has developed a two-stage pre-commercialization plan designed to rapidly place the company on the global stage as a sustainable producer of this critical electric metal extracted from brine in Alberta’s aquifers.

The first stage of pre-commercial development was completed in Q1 2023, and comprised resource definition and NI 43-101 compliance reporting, refining the database of existing well and pipeline infrastructure, environmental scoping and stakeholder consultations.

The second stage of development will be focused on drilling two brine wells in early 2024 to perform comprehensive reservoir engineering evaluations to determine the ultimate producibility and injectivity of the Wabamun and Leduc formation aquifers. The wells will also provide the source of brine needed to conduct a demonstration pilot to determine the most effective way to integrate its selected DLE platform within an optimized brine production infrastructure.

NeoLithica will then commission a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) after conducting the demonstration pilot, and refining the extracted lithium concentrate to produce battery-grade lithium compounds to seed to potential global buyers. After the pilot program, NeoLithica will develop its aquifer management plan and conduct a Pre-feasibility Study.

The results of the above project development, conducted by the team of NeoLithica, its technology partners and industry experts, will de-risk the Peace River Lithium Project and lead to Final Investment Decision.

Redwater Lithium Project

Wembley Lithium Project

NeoLithica acquired 97,952 hectares (378 square miles) of highly prospective lithium brine permits southwest of its Peace River Project.

The company is currently conducting a geological study of the prospect area, and believes it may become an additional source of lithium-brine and contribute to NeoLithica’s overall brine resources.