Drilling has commenced at Well #1 at Prairie. Pic via Getty Images.
Arizona Lithium starts drilling deep at its Prairie brine project
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- Drilling of Pad #1 down to 2700m has commenced at Arizona Lithium’s Prairie
- Production testing from the wells to commence in June
- Drilling ongoing across Pad’s #1-3 over the coming months
- The drilling is fully funded with AZL’s current cash reserves at $18 million
Special Report: Lithium-brine developer Arizona Lithium has kicked off well drilling at Pad #1 at the advanced Prairie project in Saskatchewan, Canada, with production testing expected to start next month.
Prairie, in the Williston Basin of Saskatchewan, has a current resource of 6.3Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), with 4.5Mt in the indicated and 1.8Mt LCE in the inferred categories.
The project is in one of the world’s top mining-friendly jurisdictions, with easy access to key infrastructure including electricity, natural gas, fresh water, paved highways and railroads.
Arizona Lithium’s (ASX:AZL) aim is to have strong environmental and sustainable credentials, targeting to use less freshwater, land and waste as part of its sustainable approach to lithium development.
It recently achieved steady-state 95% recovery rates at Prairie’s pilot plant, where it’s already produced 13,500L of lithium concentrate ahead of Phase 1 production pegged for next year.
Well drilling at Pad #1
The first two wells on Pad #1 are being drilled as vertical wells down to a depth of 2700m. Well #1 will test the Souris River and Duperow Formations, while Well #2 will test the Dawson Bay Formation and specific disposal targets in the Madison Group.
Having production wells and disposal wells in place is a key component of Prairie’s development and brings the project one step closer towards commercial production.
“The rig has been delivered to site, the first well has been spudded and AZL is now drilling lithium wells,” Paul Lloyd says.
“Operating in a mature and well-developed oil and gas province, this enables us to efficiently access the skills and services required to develop and fast track our project,” Lloyd says.
“These are very deep holes being drilled by a heavy-duty oil drilling rig. It will take over 40 service providers and hundreds of people to execute a drilling and completion program like this.
“I’d like to thank all of the vendors, their employees and the local community for stepping up to support our project and we look forward to updating shareholders as the large drill program progresses.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Arizona Lithium, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
