South Dakota Lithium
Midwest Lithium’s Black Hills Project is one of the most exciting lithium exploration mineral properties globally, being strategically located in the heart of the US. Extraction is envisaged with minimal disturbance footprint in a well known mining region and, geologically, it is targeting technologically proven and industry accepted spodumene mineralization.
BLACK HILLS LITHIUM POTENTIAL
The Black Hills district holds more than 24,000 pegmatite bodies located around a large local granitic intrusion known as the Harney Peak Granite, of which between 2 per cent and 5 per cent are believed to carry lithium mineralisation.
Visible spodumene and other lithium minerals are easily identified around the district, which is home to a number of historical mines and some of the first spodumene processing plants worldwide, proving that spodumene in the region can be easily extracted through conventional DMS and flotation methods.
LOCAL GEOLOGY – OVERVIEW
The fertile Harney Peak Granite melts are the source of Li bearing pegmatites in the Black Hills.
Claims marked as boxes covering ~23,500 acres sit in the correct pressure and temperature corridors for Li bearing mineral crystallization (green schist facies) numerous pegmatite dikes, visible spodumene and historical producing sites throughout the claim package.
Primary faults (black lines) have been exploited by the Harney Peak Granite intrusions. Major historical workings area associated with these primary structures. These structures have been used in the desktop study along with other vectors such as crystallization of metamorphic index minerals Andalusite and Sillimanite as proxys for mineralization.
LAND HOLDING AND STRATEGY
The South Dakota lithium project comprises of around 23,500 acres of both Federal and Private Land, containing various historical lithium production mines, visible spodumene, and multiple pegmatites. Currently, Midwest is undertaking exploration geology work preparing for out first drill program, which involves detailed channel sampling, mapping, geochemistry analysis, and target generation.
Permitting
The Black Hills is a well-known mining region: Coeur’s Wharf Mine (large gold open pit heap leach) is in operation and the region also includes dozens of operating open pit quarries (spodumene mines are normally small and similar scale to quarries). Homestake, the largest gold mine in the US for most of its life, operated in the Black Hills for over 100 years and the entire region has been continuously mined since the 1800s. Midwest land holding is strategically placed completely avoiding all National Parks and Wilderness Areas; we also target streamlined permitting process leveraging from brownfield disturbed sites and Federal policy in place.
It is envisaged that the environmental impact of exploration activities will be negligible, if any. When in production, Midwest is targeting old mines in desperate need for rehabilitation and the operating units will resemble small quarries already in operation in the region. Water will be nearly 100% recycled and minerals will be only concentrated to be shipped out of the region for chemical processing so no hazardous chemicals are to be used in the operation.
