North American lithium explorer Ameriwest Lithium announced in late September that it had been awarded seven exploration permits in Arizona by the state’s land department that will permit it to advance plans to explore prospective lithium-bearing clays in the west-central region of the state.
The property totals nearly 2,859 acres (1,157 hectares) in Yavapai County, which Ameriwest refers to as the Thompson Valley Hectorite Deposit.
President and CEO David Watkinson confirmed the award as its fourth of a series of lithium exploration properties it has recently staked in the United States.
“This deposit represents prospective lithium sedimentary mineralization with surface or near-surface exposure of lithium-bearing clays, with historic grades reported as comparable to those found in similar sedimentary deposits found in Clayton Valley, Nev.,” he said.
“Ameriwest’s technical team has put together a series of high-quality exploration properties in an extremely short period of time and each of these properties holds promise for the discovery of lithium and, with exploration success, the potential delineation of mineral resources.”
He added Ameriwest will be moving toward a field exploration program of geologic mapping and surface sampling to better define the deposit’s extent and grade at the lands 120 miles (190 kilometers) north of Phoenix.
The Canadian-based company is currently focused on exploring Nevada’s Deer Musk East property, located in the prolific Clayton Valley, totaling 5,600 acres; the Railroad Valley property, totaling 6,200 acres; and Edwards Creek Valley, totaling 16,940 acres. Additionally, Ameriwest’s current resource portfolio includes the ESN project, located in White Pine County, Nev., and the Koster Dam property, located in the Clinton Mining Division of British Columbia.