.jpeg)
1) MAX Power Mining has initiated Phase 1 drilling at the Wilcox Playa Lithium Project in Arizona. Combining historical data and recent geophysics programs, geologists are pursuing a significant discovery opportunity systematic diamond drilling. With a vast Playa covering approximately 50 square miles, MAX Power benefits from nearby infrastructure, including roads, rail, power, and community services. An HSMT Survey detected extreme resistivity lows indicating clay-rich sediments, possibly hosting lithium targets from surface to depth. The survey also suggests persistent anomalies to depths of 600 meters, with clay sequence thickness estimated at 1,200 to 1,600 meters. Additionally, it reveals structural controls, potentially faults, known to concentrate lithium in similiar Playa environments. HIstorical data indicates illite and montmorillonite as the predominant clay minerals beneath the Playa, known to contribute to high-grade lithium concentration within the Playa basin. MAX Power aims to explore a claystone sequence below the Playa, potentially housing lithium brines, targeting significant resistivity anomalies across its 3,754 acre property.
2) In a presentation at the 2023 Precious Metals Summit Zurich, Nicole Adshead-Bell, chair of Hot Chili, an Australian copper mining company, discussed the looming decline in primary copper supply expected by 2025. She highlighted the necessity of a significantly higher copper price - between six to eight dollar per pound - to prompt corporations to invest in new copper projects. Emphasizing Glencore's stance of witholding new supply until market demand escalates with higher copper prices, Adshead-Bell pointed out the reluctance to build new mines due to the current price levels. The discussino also focused on the exorbitant capital costs associated with new copper projects, citing Teck Resources' additional $600 million budget for its Chilean project, Quebrada Blanca Phase 2. Ms. Adshead-Bull attributed these high costs to the nature of large-scale projects, inflation, and executive-level errors, advocating for post-mortems to understand and mitigate such blowouts. Hot Chili completed a preliminary economic assessment on its Costa Fuego project in Chili, witnessing a surge in stock price to a 1 year high, partly due to a substantial investment from Osisko Gold Royalties. Adshead-Bull underlined project advantages such as possessing water extraction licenses and marine concessions - a crucial aspect considering the water scarcity issues in Chile's mining regions. Additionally, the project's accessibility to power, roads, and low-elevation processing using seawater further enhances its viablity. The estimated capital expenditure for the project stands at slightly over $1 billion.