The viability of the lithium resource at the San José Project of Infinity Lithium Corporation Ltd (ASX:INF) in Spain has been confirmed by the regional government’s mines department, completing the first stage of Infinity’s mining licence application.
With this, the company can move to the next stage of the licensing process for the integrated lithium project — the Direct Exploitation Concession Application (ECA), or mining licence application — which comprises lodgement of the highly detailed project exploitation (mining and processing), rehabilitation and restoration and environmental impact assessments.
In recognising the viability of the San José lithium deposit as an exploitable lithium resource, the mines department assessed previously submitted documentation from Infinity's wholly-owned subsidiary Extremadura New Energies.
The formal notification stated, “according to the Report of the General Directorate of Industry, Energy and Mines, it is demonstrated the existence of a lithium deposit in the two mining squares applied for as direct exploitation concession, being technically and economically viable its exploitation with the application of the current exploitation technologies and metallurgical processes.”
Permitting progresses
Extremadura New Energies CEO Ramón Jiménez said, "We are pleased to receive this positive confirmation of the lithium resource and subsequent notification from the Mines Department allowing us to progress the permitting of San José.
“The project will now go through the ordinary procedure of assessment by the technicians of the Junta de Extremadura as we present what will be a very important project for the future of the region and one which has been designed to incorporate the feedback we have received from the local community with respect to environmental and economic considerations.”
The company can now submit the necessary documentation to progress the ECA for its lithium extraction and processing project in Cáceres.
Infinity notes that the positive confirmation of the first stage of the ECA submission is a matter of administrative process and facilitates the progression to the next in the permitting process. It has already finalised the ECA project documentation and will advance to the next stage of the submission by promptly lodging these documents.