Signs Formal Option Agreement at Aguas Calientes Norte Salar
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE….Vancouver, British Columbia: Wealth Minerals Ltd. (the “Company” or “Wealth”) – (TSXV: WML; OTCQB: WMLLF; SSE: WMLCL; Frankfurt: EJZ), announces that it has executed a Letter of Intent (the “LOI”) to enter into an option agreement giving it the right to acquire a 100% royalty-free interest in the Quisco 1 to 9 exploration concessions (the “Property”) located in the Quisquiro Salar in Region II of Antofagasta, northern Chile. The Company also announces that it has entered into a formal option agreement giving it the right to acquire the Salar 1 and Salar 2 mining concessions within the Aguas Calientes Norte Salar upon the previously announced terms (see NR16-15, June 22, 2016).
Quisquiro Salar Details
The concessions comprising the Property cover an area of approximately 2,400 hectares located in the southern portion of the Salar de Quisquiro in Region II of Antofagasta, northern Chile (Figure 1). The northern portion of the Salar de Quisquiro is held by Sociedad Quimica y Minera (“SQM”), one of two lithium-producing companies in Chile.
Independent analysis published by signum BOX (2014) differentiates the top 15 lithium salars in Chile as Tier 1, 2 or 3. Quisquiro is listed as Tier 1, together with Atacama, Maricunga, Pedernales, and La Isla. Salars in this top-tier category have an expected lithium concentration ranging from 423 mg/l to 1,080 mg/l. Wealth has not yet completed sampling at the Property to validate these expected levels of lithium concentration and, accordingly, they should not be relied upon in relation to the Property. Access to the Property is via Route 27, a paved highway located to the north of the Property.
Acquisition Terms – Quisquiro
Under the LOI, subject to the completion of certain conditions precedent, including TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, Wealth would be granted the exclusive option to acquire a 100% royalty-free interest in the Project from the arm’s length vendor (a private Chilean company) (“Vendor”) by making the following payments to the Vendor:
| Date | Payment |
|---|---|
| Upon Signing Formal Option Agreement | USD 300,000 |
| March 12, 2017 | USD 100,000 |
| September 12, 2017 | USD 500,000 |
| September 12, 2018 | USD 700,000 |
| September 12, 2019 | USD 1,000,000 |
Subject to satisfactory due diligence by Wealth, which is to be completed within 45 days, Wealth’s Chilean subsidiary and the Vendor will execute a formal Option Agreement. There will be no work commitments under the Option Agreement, but Wealth Chile is responsible for maintaining the concessions in good standing during the term of the option.
Figure 1: Quisquiro Salar, showing Property (red outline)
and SQM Ownership (green outline)
Trinity Lithium Project
The Property, together with the Puritama 1 to 8 and Salar 1 and 2 concessions located in the Salar de Aguas Calientes and the Pujsa 1 to 7 concessions located in the Salar de Pujsa, defines the Company’s Trinity Lithium Project; a consolidation of three high-priority Chilean salars.
“The consolidation of three high-potential, highway accessible lithium projects has been in the works for some time and its completion helps to position Wealth as a notable lithium company in Chile” stated Henk van Alphen, Wealth’s CEO. “We have essentially secured 100% of the Aguas Calientes Norte and Pujsa Salara, while our ownership at Quisquiro Salar, together with our neighbours SQM, completes the planned project consolidation in this region of Chile. Our relentless work to acquire and consolidate high-potential lithium interests in Chile is generating concrete results. Marcelo Awad A, the Executive Director of Wealth Chile and ex-President and CEO of Antofagasta Minerals S.A, will continue to lead Wealth’s ongoing Chilean Lithium Salar acquisition drive.”
The non-producing salars in Chile have had limited exploration work completed and most of them are yet to be systematically explored. Exploration will be required so that any potential resources can be identified and fully evaluated and quantified. Accordingly, the initial program to be carried out by the Company at the Property will consist of a program of prospecting and sampling to determine the existence, nature, extent and distribution of lithium at the Property.
Figure 2: Wealth’s most recent lithium project acquisitions totaling 6,400 ha.,
collectively referred to as the “Trinity Lithium Project”
Qualified Person
Keith J. Henderson, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Henderson is a consultant to Wealth, but does hold common shares and incentive stock options in the Company.
Issuance of Shares to Balmoral Resources Ltd.
On July 13, 2016, the Company issued an aggregate of 148,477 common shares to Balmoral Resources Ltd. in settlement of a payment of $133,333 due to Balmoral in connection with the termination of the N1/N2 project. The shares have a hold period in Canada expiring on November 13, 2016.
About Wealth Minerals Ltd.
Wealth is a mineral resource company with interests in Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile. The Company’s main focus is the acquisition of lithium projects in South America. To date the company has positioned itself to develop the Aguas Caliente Norte, Pujsa and Quisquiro Salars in Chile and continues to aggressively pursue new acquisitions in the region. Lithium market dynamics and a rapidly increasing metal price are the result of profound structural issues with the industry meeting anticipated future demand. Wealth is positioning itself to be a major beneficiary of this future mismatch of supply and demand. The Company also maintains and continues to evaluate a portfolio of precious and base metal exploration-stage projects.
For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company’s web site (www.wealthminerals.com) and its Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of
WEALTH MINERALS LTD.
“Tim McCutcheon”
Tim McCutcheon
President
For further information, please contact:
Tim McCutcheon or Marla Ritchie
Phone: 604-331-0096 Ext. 3886 or 604-638-3886
E-mail: info@wealthminerals.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the Company’s expectation that it will be able to enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional mineral projects, including lithium properties, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the proposed execution of a formal agreement for the option to acquire an interest in the Property and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company’s equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company’s latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company’s Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company’s mineral properties.