– CANADA, Calgary – Bacanora Minerals Ltd, the London and Canadian listed (AIM:BCN / TSXV:BCN) lithium exploration and development company, is pleased to announce changes to the Board, as well as provide an update on its flagship Sonora Project in Mexico where a Feasibility Study for a 35,000 tonnes per annum lithium carbonate operation is now on course for completion in late 2017. The Company has also recently commenced a FS for the Zinnwald Project located near Dresden, Germany. In addition the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of two new Non-executive directors and Canaccord Genuity Limited as its sole broker with immediate effect.
The Company announces the appointment of Dr Andres Antonius, who is based in Mexico City, and Mr. Junichi Tomono, head of the Speciality Metals and Alloys department of leading Japan-based global trading company Hanwa Co., LTD., as Non-executive Directors of the Company. Such appointments have been approved by the Board of Bacanora and will take full effect upon completion of standard regulatory reviews, which are underway.
The two appointments replace Mr. James Leahy, who has stepped down from the Board to pursue other business interests, and Mr. Kiran Morzaria who resigned from his position as Non-executive Director of the Company earlier this year. Mr. Tomono’s appointment to the Board follows the signing of a strategic partnership and offtake agreement for Sonora which has seen Hanwa acquire an initial 10% interest in Bacanora following a private placement.
About Dr. Andres Antonius
Dr. Andres Constantin Antonius Gonzalez (aged 47) is a Mexican national who has held positions in the Government of Mexico as well as in the private sector and academia. Dr. Antonius previously served as Undersecretary for Energy Policy and prior to that was a staff member at the Agriculture Secretariat. Dr. Antonius also held the role of coordinator for strategy of then President Elect Peña Nieto’s transition team in 2012. Dr. Antonius is currently CEO of Plan B, a provider of strategic advice to a range of clients. Prior to founding Plan B, he was the President of the Consulting Services Group at Kroll, a world leader in risk management, business intelligence, and investigations. Dr. Antonius has also held the position of Director of Strategic Planning at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (‘ITAM’) and has taught economic theory, game theory, and crisis management at both the ITAM and the Universidad Iberoamericana. He received a B.A., Masters and PhD degree in Economics from Harvard University. As part of his package, Dr. Antonius will be granted 500,000 options to acquire new ordinary shares in the Company at an exercise price of 86.5 pence. Such options vest as to 1/3 on the date of grant and an additional 1/3 on each of the first and second anniversaries of the date of grant and are exercisable for a period of three (3) years. All of these options (and the common shares issuable upon exercise) will be subject to applicable securities law hold periods.
About Junichi Tomono
Junichi Tomono (aged 43) has over 22 years’ experience with Hanwa, during which time he has worked in the Metals, Chemicals, Alloys, Scrap metals and Mining divisions. Mr. Tomono has a special focus on the battery chemicals sector including lithium. As head of the Speciality Metals and Alloys department and as a Director of three of Hanwa’s subsidiaries, Mr. Tomono has played a key role in Hanwa adopting a more global focus in response to the rapid growth in the lithium battery sector.
About Bacanora Minerals
Bacanora is a Canadian and London listed lithium exploration and development company (TSX-V: BCN and AIM: BCN). The Company is exploring for, and developing a pipeline of international lithium projects, with a primary focus on the Sonora Lithium Project. The Company’s operations are based in Hermosillo in northern Mexico. The Company is led by a team with lithium expertise and proven mine development, construction and operations experience.
The Sonora Lithium Project, which consists of ten mining concession areas covering approximately 100 thousand hectares in the northeast of Sonora State. The Company, through drilling and exploration work to date, has established an Indicated Mineral Resource (in accordance with NI 43-101) of 4.5 million tonnes (LCE[1]) and 2.7 million tonnes Inferred.[2] A Pre-Feasibility Study completed in Q1 2016[3] established Probable Mineral Reserve (in accordance with NI 43-101) of 2.1 million tonnes LCE and demonstrated the economics associated with becoming a 35,000 tpa lithium carbonate and 50,000 tpa SOP producer in Mexico.
In addition to the Sonora Lithium Project, the Company also has a 50% interest in the Zinnwald Lithium Project in southern Saxony, Germany. The Zinnwald Lithium Project is located in a granite hosted Sn/W/Li belt that has been mined historically for tin, tungsten and lithium at different times over the past 300 years. The strategic location of the Zinnwald Lithium Project allows immediate access to the German automotive and downstream lithium chemical industries.
For more information : http://www.bacanoraminerals.com
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