As nickel and manganese are deemed essential to US national security, AMLM are seeking advancements in the mining of these commodities.
American Lithium Minerals, Inc. (AMLM) has a large portfolio of lithium and rare earth exploration properties in the United States. Progress is being made on several fronts.
West end lithium and uranium
The West End lithium and uranium property is comprised of approximately 460 acres and is located west of Tonopah in Central Nevada.
A pandemic-era title issue between AMLM and a neighboring land owner has now been resolved. The neighbor will abandon its claims that overstaked approximately 460 acres of the AMLM West End Project. AMLM will move its location monuments for approximately 20 acres where AMLM overstaked the neighbor’s claims.
As a result, the major uncertainty previously affecting the West End Project has vanished, and CDSG, our joint venture partner for this project, can continue with its lithium exploration programme. CDSG has also indicated that it is negotiating for license rights to an innovative lithium extraction technology, a pilot plant for which would be located within the 460 acre West End site.
Industrial plant site at Imlay
Since 2021, AMLM has been working to complete its purchase of 75 acres of industrial zoned land in Imlay, Nevada. This property is in northern Nevada, about 1.5 hours from Reno. We completed our purchase of 55 acres fronting, on Interstate Highway I-80, earlier in 2022, and the plant-site is being acquired from the Catholic Church.
When the Church acquired the land decades ago, there was an error in the legal description for an additional 20 acres with frontage on the Union Pacific Railroad. Court approval was required to correct the legal description, which was recently obtained. AMLM now owns all 75 acres, and can begin planning its mineral exploration facility and acquiring water rights.
Southern Illinois mineral exploration
As previously reported, AMLM has begun land assembly for a rare earths project in the Illinois Kentucky Fluorspar District (IKFD). 1,289 gross acres (747 net acres) of private mineral rights have been under contract since the summer of 2022. Deeds have now been received and recorded for this property, which sets the stage for acquiring additional facilities to house personnel and equipment.
Cairo industrial plant site
We have been looking for an industrial plant site in Southern Illinois since 2019. AMLM has now sought the assistance of a real estate brokerage firm and widened the search to counties adjacent to Cairo, Illinois. Additionally, we recently received a deed for a second storefront building in Cairo (222 8th Street), which formerly housed the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
Central New York plant site
We have also been considering industrial sites in the Syracuse, New York area. A number of AMLM management family members live in Syracuse, which has excellent rail and highway infrastructure, and a lower cost structure than the New York City area.
We see Syracuse as an excellent area for future business development. It was recently selected by Micron Technology as the site for a $20bn semiconductor plant to be developed, with subsidies from the US Government.
Nickel and manganese as strategic metals
In April 2022, the Biden Administration ordered the Department of Defense to consider five minerals as essential to national security under the Defense Production Act, because of their importance to battery technology. Using this law (which dates from the time of the Cold War) may result in new subsidies for US domestic mining and mineral exploration. In addition to lithium, which is central to AMLM’s business plan, and graphite (the subject of the AMLM Buckley Flat Project), the other three priority minerals are nickel, manganese, and cobalt.
Nickel and manganese deposits are sparse in the United States. Currently, there is only one producing nickel mine (the Eagle Mine in Ishpeming, Michigan), and no current manganese mine.
AMLM’s present management has strong connections to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as an existing property position in the Keweenaw Peninsula, near Ishpeming and Big Bay, Michigan. It would not be expensive or difficult for AMLM to begin exploration for nickel in Michigan.
The same can be said of Oregon, where a laterite nickel deposit was mined for many years near Riddle. Related companies to AMLM have been active in Oregon for over ten years.
Finally, an affiliated company of AMLM also has a large property position in western Arizona, which dates back to 1998. Some of these claim blocks in southern Mohave County are very close to the Artillery Mountains manganese deposit, which was active during The Second World War, and helped to build the US Manganese Stockpile in later years.
We will be taking all of this into account when considering whether to add one or more new mineral exploration projects focused on nickel or manganese.
