FIRST LITHIUM OPTIONS NEVADA LITHIUM TARGET
Vancouver, British Columbia – First Lithium Resources
Inc. (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement (the “Option”)
with Ashburton Ventures Inc., (the “Optionor”) to earn an 80% interest in the Teels lithium prospect
located at Teels Marsh, Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 54 miles northwest of Clayton Valley. The
prospect comprises 120 placer claims (2,400 acres -- 3.7 square miles) which cover approximately the
western two-thirds of the Teels Marsh, a closed, desert basin.
In the mid seventies, the U.S.G.S.
performed extensive sampling to evaluate the potential for economically viable lithium sources in Nevada
(Lithium in Sediments and Rocks in Nevada, 1976, U.S.G.S. O.F.R 76-828). Though 58 basins were sampled
in all, particular attention was given to the Teels Marsh Basin, as evidenced by greater than 25% of the
total number of the study’s samples being collected there. Hydrofluoric acid dissolution of the crushed,
dried samples followed by atomic absorption tests yielded the top “high samples” produced in the entire
study. They are as follows:
850 ppm (high sample) - 47 samples near springs marginal to playa
580
ppm (high sample) - 50 samples from backhoe pits near springs
560 ppm (high sample) – 30 samples from
playa surface
Subsequent water sampling along the northwest margin of the Teels Marsh playa (see news
ABR.V, 2010-01-11) has confirmed lithium anomalies detected in the above referenced U.S.G.S. surveys.
Three 2009 water samples containing 530 to >1000 ppb Li were collected from surface springs near the
edge of the playa; the anomalously high lithium contents are interpreted to reflect Li input into the
playa from the hills to the northwest. The hills are largely underlain by Tertiary volcanic rocks and
Cretaceous granodiorite, either of which could be source rocks for lithium-bearing brines at depth in
the playa.
The Teels prospect is a playa (dry lake) deposit containing chlorides, sulphates,
carbonates, bicarbonates and borates of sodium and potassium. These occurences, and the existence of
historical data suggesting lithium water flows into the marsh are the factors responsible for eliciting
the Company's keen interest.
Teels Marsh was first worked in the 1860s for salt. Then in
approximately 1872, borax was discovered and was produced steadily until 1892, by U.S. Borax, which
still holds the private ground to the east. Operations ceased when other borax resources were found in
Death Valley.
The Clayton Valley (which has been producing lithium brines since the 1960s and
continues in production today) was also mined in the 1800s for salt and borax, denoting obvious
similarities to Teels. As lithium-bearing brines tend to be the last product of evaporation, it appears
(and from the Clayton Valley work) that the deeper portions of the playa, usually fault derived (as at
Atacama, Chile) have been allowed the proper time for evaporation of these last stages of brines. A
fault along the western margin of the Teels playa, within the claims’ boundary, appears to have
down-dropped (or tilted), potentially forming a deep basin.
In order to maintain the Option in good
standing and to earn an 80% interest in the Property, the Company shall make cash payments, issue common
shares to the Optionor and incur Exploration Expenditures by the following deadlines:
a. pay $40,000
and issue 250,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (“common shares”) within three business
days of the Company receiving Exchange approval of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;
b. pay $50,000 and issue 500,000 common shares by the first anniversary of the date on which the
Optionor gains legal and beneficial title to the Property (the “Registration Date”);
c. pay $85,000 and
issue 500,000 common shares by the second anniversary of the Registration Date; and
d. incur
Exploration Expenditures of an aggregate of $450,000 on the Property as follows:
i. $100,000 by the
first anniversary of the Registration Date;
ii. $150,000 by the second anniversary of the Registration
Date; and
iii. $200,000 by the third anniversary of the Registration Date.
President Craig Naughty
states: “We are very pleased that our continued search for an additional lithium prospect to add to our
already strong portfolio has culminated in such an exciting exploration opportunity. The Company intends
to commence further exploration on the property immediately following the transfer of title.”
ON
BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Craig Naughty
President & CEO
For further information contact or Craig
Naughty, or visit the website at
www.firstlithiumresources.com
This news release has been
prepared on behalf of the First Lithium Resources Inc. Board of Directors, which accepts full
responsibility for its contents. The technical contents of this release have been reviewed and approved
by David A. Hedderly-Smith, Ph.D., P.G., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument
43-101.
"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
release."
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