Lithium Corporation is to earn a 100% interest in the Properties by furnishing to the Optionor:

• 1,000,000 common shares @ signing of a formal agreement
• 750,000 common shares @ 1st anniversary of the formal agreement

In consideration of the above Lithium Corporation will earn a full 100% interest in the properties, subject to two separate 1% Net Smelter Royalties (NSR’s) that may be purchased at anytime for $500,000 each.

The Michael property in the Trail Creek Mining Division was originally staked to cover one of the most compelling tantalum (Ta) in stream sediment anomalies as seen in the government RGS database in British Columbia. Bormal conducted a stream sediment sampling program in 2014, and determined that the tantalum-niobium in stream sediment anomaly here is bona fide, and in the order of 6 kilometers in length.

Tantalum in stream sediments values in the Bormal program ranged from 4.8 ppm outside of the anomaly to 31.2 ppm within the anomaly, while niobium ranged from 101.57 ppm to a high of 490.21 ppm. The values for Ta within the anomaly for the most part rank in the 98th percentile for the values obtained in the RGS surveys, and the absolute high value from the Bormal survey ranks as the 17thstrongest response relative to the RGS database, which contains over 53,000 samples. In November of 2016 Lithium Corporation conducted a short soil geochemistry orientation program on the property as part of its due diligence, and determined that there are elevated levels of Niobium-Tantalum in soils here.

Also in the general area of the Michael property the Yeehaw property has been staked over a similar but lower amplitude Tantalum/REE in stream sediment anomaly. Both properties are situated in the Eocene Coryell Batholith, and it is thought that these anomalies may arise from either Carbonatite or Pegmatite type deposits.

The third property – Three Valley Gap, is in the Revelstoke Mining Division and is situated in a locale where several Nb-Ta enriched carbonatites have been noted to occur, and where sampling by the BCGS in the 1980’s returned Tantalum values as high as 100 ppm Ta. A brief field program by Bormal in 2015 located one of these carbonatites, and concurrent soil sampling determined that the soils here are enriched with Nb-Ta over the known carbonatite, and indicated that there are other geochemical anomalies locally that may indicate that more carbonatites exist here and are shallowly buried.

Tantalum has a number of applications, with the bulk of production being allocated for the manufacture of electronic capacitors. It also is becoming increasingly utilized in alloys where its high reliability characteristics and low failure rates make it indispensible for aerospace applications. Some other uses are; medical implants due to it being chemically inert, light weight – high resolution glass lenses; and it can be found in almost all popular hand held and stationary electronic devices in use today.

There have been several electric vehicle manufacturers that have experimented with the inclusion of a large capacitor in their vehicles for those times when rapid acceleration or extra power is desired. The capacitor decreases the need for larger batteries for these sporadic periods of greater power output. Very little of North America’s demand for tantalum is met from mines on the continent, so it is conceivable that any new deposit that proves to be economically feasible may find a ready domestic market for its output.

For further information with regard to Lithium Corporation,
please contact Tom Lewis at
(775) 410-2206 or via email at info@lithiumcorporation.com

About Lithium Corporation
Lithium Corporation is an exploration company based in Nevada devoted to the exploration for energy storage related resources throughout North America, looking to capitalize on opportunities within the ever expanding next generation battery markets.

The information comes from the 40th annual Mineral Commodity Summaries report, the earliest comprehensive source of 2016 mineral production data for the world. It includes statistics on more than 88 mineral commodities that are important to the U.S. economy and national security. The report identifies events, trends and issues in the domestic and international minerals industries.

“The Mineral Commodity Summaries provide crucial, unbiased statistics that decision makers and policy makers, in both the private and public sectors, rely on to make business decisions and national policy,” said Steven M. Fortier, Director of the USGS National Minerals Information Center. “Industries – such as steel, aerospace and electronics – processed non-fuel mineral materials and created an estimated $2.8 trillion in value added products in 2016, which contributed 15 percent to the total U.S. Gross Domestic Product.”

One key finding from the report is during 2016, the U.S. was 100 percent import reliant on 20 mineral commodities, including rare earths, manganese and niobium, which are among a suite of materials often designated as “critical” or “strategic” because they are essential to the economy and their supply may be disrupted. This number has increased from just 11 commodities in 1984.

Some other significant findings in the new report on domestic mineral production include:

Rare Earths: The suspension of U.S. rare-earth mining in late 2015 resulted in a significant decline in domestic exports of rare-earth compounds in 2016. U.S. imports of rare-earth compounds and metals increased by 6 percent compared with those in 2015.

Aluminum: U.S. production of primary aluminum decreased for the fourth consecutive year, declining by about 47 percent in 2016 to the lowest level since 1951. During the year, three primary smelters were shut down reducing production capacity by more than 700,000 metric tons per year. U.S. imports of aluminum (crude and semi-manufactures) increased by 18 percent in 2016.

Iron Ore: U.S. iron ore production decreased by 11 percent in 2016. Six iron ore mines in the United States had either been idled, reduced production, or closed permanently. Steel produced from basic oxygen furnaces, which consume iron ore, declined in 2016.

Diamond (industrial): The United States is likely to continue as one of the world’s leading markets for industrial diamond into the next decade and will probably remain a significant producer and exporter of synthetic industrial diamond as well. National demand for industrial diamond is likely to be strong in the construction sector as the United States continues building, milling and repairing the country’s highway system.

Salt: The 2015–16 winter was warmer than average for the first time in several years, and the amount of frozen precipitation and the number of winter weather events was below average in many parts of the United States, requiring less salt for highway de-icing. Rock salt production and imports in 2016 decreased 7 percent and 42 percent, respectively from the levels estimated in 2015 because of decreased demand from many local and State transportation departments.

Cement: On a year-on-year basis, monthly cement sales in 2016 varied widely and the overall increase for the year was lower than had been expected at yearend 2015. Construction spending levels were moderately higher during the year, however, continued low oil and gas prices significantly limited the amount of oil and gas well drilling. This reduced the consumption of general and oil well cements for this activity, which contributed to lower overall cement sales in a number of States, especially Texas.

The United States produced 13 mineral commodities in 2016 that were worth more than $1 billion each and the estimated value of total U.S. industrial minerals production in 2016 was $51.6 billion, 5 percent more than that of 2015.

Slower growth in consumption for metals – especially in China – and excess production, resulted in low prices in 2015 and early 2016 for most metals. This caused the value of 2016 U.S. metal mine production to drop to $23 billion, a 5 percent loss compared to 2015.

While the report looks at mineral commodities across the nation, eleven states individually produced more than $2 billion worth of nonfuel mineral commodities in 2016. These states were (in descending order of value): Nevada, Arizona, Texas, California, Minnesota, Florida, Alaska, Michigan, Wyoming, Missouri and Utah.

The USGS Mineral Resources Program delivers unbiased science and information to understand mineral resource potential, production, consumption and how minerals interact with the environment. The USGS National Minerals Information Center collects, analyzes, and disseminates current information on the supply of and the demand for minerals and materials in the United States and about 180 other countries. This information is essential in planning for and mitigating impacts of potential disruptions to mineral commodity supply due to both natural hazard and man-made events.

The total consideration will be payable to Anglo American at closing, subject to certain closing and post-closing adjustments.

The wholly owned Niobium and Phosphates businesses are located in the states of Goiás and São Paulo, in Brazil. The Phosphates business consists of a mine, beneficiation plant, two chemical complexes and two further mineral deposits. The Niobium business consists of one mine and three processing facilities, two non-operating mines, two further mineral deposits and sales and marketing operations in the United Kingdom and Singapore. Together, the businesses generated EBITDA of $146 million(1) in the year ended 31 December 2015.

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “The sale of our Niobium and Phosphates businesses is another positive step forward in the strategic reshaping of Anglo American that we set out in February. The proceeds from this Transaction, together with the ongoing productivity and cost improvements we are driving through the business, will enable us to continue to reduce our net debt towards our targeted level of less than $10 billion at the end of 2016. This Transaction confirms our commitment to creating the new Anglo American, positioned to deliver robust profitability and cash flows through the price cycle.”

The Transaction is conditional upon customary People’s Republic of China regulatory approvals, and the approval of CMOC shareholders. Anglo American received binding commitments from the two major CMOC shareholders holding 63 per cent. of CMOC shares to support the Transaction. The Transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016.

Anglo American intends to use the proceeds to reduce its level of debt.

Note: (1) EBITDA of $146 million is based on the EBTIDA definition provided in the Anglo American plc Annual Report. Additionally, during 2015, $17 million of EBIT was capitalised in relation to the Boa Vista Fresh Rock (BVFR) project.

Media

UK
James Wyatt-Tilby
Email: james.wyatt-tilby@angloamerican.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7968 8759

Marcelo Esquivel

Email: marcelo.esquivel@angloamerican.com
+44 (0)20 7968 8891

South Africa
Pranill Ramchander
Email: pranill.ramchander@angloamerican.com
Tel: +27 (0)11 638 2592

Once it goes into production Elk Creek will make Niocorp the only producer of niobium and scandium in the USA. Elk Creek will also be the highest grade niobium project in North America and the largest potential producer of scandium in the world.

By any standards, Elk Creek is a big project. On the most recent preliminary economic assessment, filed in September of 2015, the company and its consultants estimated the net present value of the project at US$3.07bn before tax and US$2.3bn after tax.

For a project this size, it’s perhaps not surprising that the total up-front capital costs are likely to be pretty substantial, currently estimated at US$979 million.

But the returns will also be substantial.

Over a 32-year mine life Elk Creek is expected to generate an average pre-tax cash-flow of US$438 mln per year. The post-tax internal rate of return rings in at 27.6%.

If all of this looks pretty good to investors, it looks good to the locals too. Nebraska is not a major mining destination either in global or local terms, and indeed once built Elk Creek looks set to become the state’s major mining project.

As such it will be a major employer and has received much support accordingly. But Niocorp is also mindful the community and environmental issues that surround mining, and has gone out of its way extensively to engage with the local population.

Chief executive Mark Smith reports that this approach is paying off, and evidence can be found in the plethora of updates on community dialogue that appear on the company’s website.

And while that dialogue is going on, development work is continuing apace. The plan for 2016 is to complete pilot plants, to complete feasibility-level plant design, then to complete a feasibility study and to secure the finance to begin construction.

Work on all of these aspects of the development of Elk Creek is already underway, and assuming that they can all be completed in 2016, as is the aim, then the plan is also to commence construction by the end of the year.

But will Niocorp manage to find the finance in a market that’s not exactly favouring mining companies at the moment, and especially not marginally more obscure commodities like niobium and scandium?

Mark Smith is confident that it can. Company literature highlights that Niocorp has “powerful external project support.” This includes an off-take agreement with German industrial titan ThyssenKrupp (ETR:TKA) for 50% of the project’s planned ferroniobium production for an initial 10 year term.

Elk Creek has also received in-principle eligibility approval for a loan guarantee from the German government, and has received broad bipartisan support from local politicians, including the governor of Nebraska, who visited the project in 2014.

What’s more, Smith says that the current capital cost estimates could well be pared back when engineering estimates are refined after more detailed work is done.

There ought to be plenty of news on all that out in the next few months.