Advance Gold Corp Announces a Patent Application Has Been Filed for a Unique Environmentally Friendly Method to Extract Lithium and Potassium from Its Salars in Mexico
Kamloops, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 25, 2021) - Advance Gold Corp. (TSXV: AAX) ("Advance Gold" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that a patent application has been filed for a unique environmentally friendly method to extract lithium and potassium from its clay and fine sand salars in central Mexico. To date, the existing methods of extraction of lithium from clay deposits require the use of significant amounts of water and toxic chemicals. This new method is able to use recycled water and electricity from solar power to extract lithium with an electrical process.
This new method uses water and an electrical process to obtain a solution of lithium and potassium. This process can be repeated several times to produce a high-grade concentrate. Finally, the lithium and potassium are extracted using organic compounds. According to our new studies, this process might also be useful to extract boron.
Allan Barry Laboucan, President and CEO of Advance Gold Corp. commented:
"On behalf of the board of directors and our shareholders I would like to thank a number of people and especially, Dr. Roberto Pérez Garibay and his team for their outstanding work to invent a unique method to recover lithium from clay deposits. Our key geological advisor Jose de Jesus Parga who ran the Geological Survey of Mexico for over 30 years and recognized the lithium mining potential of the salt lakes/salars in central Mexico also deserves our thanks. Our partner Hot Spring Mining, led by Gilberto Zapata Castañeda who has a PhD in Law, has been instrumental in acquiring the salars, working with local communities, and through this patent we have been able to get an opportunity to move into the lithium mining space, his advice is greatly appreciated.
"I first met Dr. Roberto Pérez Garibay several years ago when he described to me the work he had been doing on a low cost method to extract lithium from the clay and fine sand deposits in central Mexico. He currently runs a state-of-the-art laboratory close to our salars, he has worked with many of the Mexican major mining companies and is a key advisor to one of them. Dr. Roberto Pérez Garibay is a professor-researcher at the prestigious Center of Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav-IPN). It is very exciting to have a method to extract lithium from clay deposits that was developed in Mexico.
"Until now, methods to extract lithium from clay deposits required the use of large amounts of water and toxic chemicals. This new method developed by Dr. Pérez Garibay for lithium and potassium extraction, that has now been filed as a new patent application, uses recyclable water, electrical separation of lithium and potassium using solar power, and finally uses organic compounds to extract the lithium and potassium from the water.
"Central Mexico is a key mining jurisdiction and is also the breadbasket of Mexico. Currently, there are no Mexican sources of potassium, it is all imported, and this method now gives Advance Gold the potential to become a major producer of potassium in close proximity to the farming centre of Mexico. In addition, we also have promising grades of boron which is crucial to plant health and enhances the strength of plants and increases the nutritional value of agriculture and increases the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. We are excited to have an environmentally conscious method to extract agricultural minerals and be a first mover in having Mexican sourced minerals to provide farmers with a domestic source.
"We are now well positioned to become a producer of lithium, crucial in battery technology and key agricultural commodities. Dr. Pérez Garibay is based in Saltillo, Mexico, which is near our salars. He is designing a test plant and will start construction shortly, to prepare for the bulk sampling of our salars to show the benefits and low costs of extracting lithium and potassium from these salars.
"The world is in the midst of a revolution to electrify everything, to move away from fossil fuels. Battery metals are crucial to electrical vehicles and other green solutions for alternative energy sources. Lithium will help power the future, we are gratified to have the potential to move into the forefront with this new extraction process.
"Being based in Mexico gives us tremendous advantages, logistically, geo-politically and economically. It has the raw materials needed for electrical vehicles and a long history of mining. Additionally, it has the labour force needed to build electrical vehicles and batteries. We look forward to the opportunity to provide a green solution to mine lithium for green energy."
Additional News
Advance Gold has filed the final agreement, previously discussed in the news release dated March 2, 2021, for regulatory approval. In addition to the purchase agreement, Advance has also secured the rights to use this new extraction method on its 13 salars in central Mexico on the terms outlined in the March 2, 2021 news release.
Dr. Julio Pinto Linares is a qualified person, doctor in geological sciences with an academic specialty in economic geology and a qualified professional, No. 01365 by MMSA. He is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for Advance Gold and is responsible for the accuracy of technical information contained in this news release.
About Advance Gold Corp.
Advance Gold is a junior exploration company focused on acquiring and exploring mineral properties containing precious metals, agricultural minerals and battery metals. The company acquired a 100-per-cent interest in the Tabasquena silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, in 2017, and the Venaditas project, also in Zacatecas state, in April, 2018. In addition, Advance Gold holds an 10.85% interest in strategic claims in the Liranda Corridor in Kenya, East Africa. The remaining 89.15% of the Kakamega project is held by Shanta Gold Limited (project previously owned by Barrick Gold Corporation, for details see Advance Gold News Release dated 08, 26, 2020). In March, 2021 Advance Gold acquired 13 salars in central Mexico containing potassium, boron and lithium, enabling it to move into agricultural minerals and the exciting lithium space.
For further information, please contact:
Allan Barry Laboucan
President and CEO
Phone 492-238-5282 (Direct-Mexico Cell)
Email: allan@advancegold.ca
This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors should change, except as required by law.
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