Pan Asia Metals Limited (PAM) has held positive discussions with the Phang Nga Provincial Government regarding its exploration, mining and mineral processing aspirations in Thailand.
PAM was recently invited by the Chief Executive Offer of the Phang Nga Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO), a Phang Nga Provincial Government coordinating body, to present the Reung Kiet Lithium Projec, located approximately 70 kilometres northeast of Phuket in the Phang Nga Province in southern Thailand.
In brief, the PAO wants to ensure that the requirements of the project are incorporated into the Phang Nga New Town Planning Committee’s zoning plans to ensure it can progress should exploration and feasibility results prove positive.
The aim was also to assist the Phang Nga Provincial Government and their considerations for the potential establishment of mining and industrial development areas.
The Reung Kiet Lithium Project is a hard rock project with lepidolite rich pegmatites principally composed of quartz, albite, lepidolite with minor cassiterite and tantalite as well as other accessory minerals including some rare earths.
Lepidolite does not require roasting and has a suite of by-products which are recoverable at the concentrator and processing stages of the flow sheet. Peer feasibility work has demonstrated that lepidolite has the potential to be one of the highest purity sources of battery-grade lithium carbonate [1] and lithium hydroxide [2].
Lepidolite is also one of the lowest-cost sources of lithium hydroxide on an All In Sustaining Costs basis [2], and it has one of the lowest capex requirements on a per tonne LCE basis after by-products [3][4].
PAM is planning its second Reung Kiet drilling program with expectations that this will commence in the coming months, following the conclusion of the current Khao Soon drilling program.
Pan Asia Metals Managing Director, Paul Lock, said they are very happy with the positive reception that the project is receiving from the Phang Nga Provincial Government and surrounding communities.
“Reung Keit is strategically located and based on peer feasibility work, the project is positioned to potentially be one of the lowest-cost suppliers of lithium chemicals in the global peer group,” Mr Lock said.
“This is a project that can bring substantial opportunities and value to Phang Nga and Thailand.”
[1] See Lepidico Limited’s ASX release dated 17 October 2019 – https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02160129-6A950059?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4
[2] See Lepidico Limited’s ASX release dated 28 May 2020 – https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02239127-6A980475?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4
[3] See Lepidico Limited’s ASX release dated 28 May 2020.
[4] See Figure 35, Section 10.3 in PAM’s Prospectus dated 8, July 2020.