Atacama, Chile

The Salar de Atacama is host to more than 15% of the world’s known lithium reserves, and yet exploration and production of lithium has occurred only in the southern portion of the Salar. The proximity of the Project to existing producers strongly suggests that exploration potential is good for the discovery of brines in the northern portion of the Salar, underlying the Project.

The principal origin of lithium in the Salar de Atacama is interpreted to be the lithium-bearing geothermal waters from the El Tatio Geyser Field, located north of the salar. The geothermal fluids enter the northern part of the Salar de Atacama via surface and subsurface flow. Further, the chemistry of the salar brines is almost identical to the chemistry of the geothermal fluids of El Tatio, further strengthening the interpretation that the El Tatio geothermal fluids are the source of lithium and potassium in the Salar.

The geology of the Project is similar to the sedimentary settings of other salars such as Maricunga, La Isla, Olaroz, and Cauchari, where potentially economic lithium resources have been reported by other public and private lithium exploration companies. Regional studies of the Salar de Atacama’s geology, hydrogeology, climate and other factors provide a high-level of understanding of the lithium brine processes in the region, lending credence to the exploration potential of the Project.

Wealth Minerals intends to evaluate the brine potential of the Project by utilizing geophysical methods to better evaluate basin configuration, geologic structure, and the hydrogeology of the concessions, followed by drill testing any targets developed by the initial work.