VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 16, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pure Energy Minerals Limited (TSX-V:PE) (FRANKFURT:A111EG) (OTCQB:PEMIF) (the “Company” or “Pure Energy”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Walter Weinig as Vice President of Projects and Permitting effective April 1, 2017. This appointment continues the transition of the Company from exploration to development activities at the Clayton Valley South Lithium Project (the “CVS Project”) while helping to launch the exploration stage at the Terra Cotta Project in Argentina.
Mr. Weinig brings nearly 30 years of experience in mining hydrogeology, permitting, and project management at sites around the globe to Pure Energy. He has managed multi-disciplinary engineering and scientific teams to accomplish complex design and permitting projects in surface and underground mining, industrial, and environmental arenas. Mr. Weinig has led and performed groundwater and environmental investigations throughout the southwestern United States, including mining-related baseline studies and assessments for several projects in Nevada. He has also provided oversight and input to the resource quantification for a lithium-brine project in Argentina (unrelated to Pure Energy). He is currently involved with the Company in a consulting capacity, focusing on the resource evaluation at the CVS Project.
Mr. Weinig earned a B.Sc. degree in geology from the University of Wisconsin and an M.Sc. in hydrology and water resources from the University of Arizona. He is a registered Professional Geologist, a certified Project Management Professional, and is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
Pure Energy also announces that Dr. Andy Robinson will resign from his position as Chief Operating Officer of the Company effective March 31, 2017. Dr. Robinson joined Pure Energy as Chief Operating Officer in November 2014 and was appointed a Director in September 2015. He presided over considerable growth of the Company during the early stages of the CVS Project. Dr. Robinson remains a Director of the Company.
Pure Energy CEO, Patrick Highsmith, commented about the evolution of the team, “This will be a year of transition at the Clayton Valley South Project as we progress from exploration to development. At the same time we launch an important exploration program at the new Terra Cotta Project. We are very excited that Walter Weinig is joining our team at Pure Energy. Not only does he have specialist hydrogeology and lithium experience, but he is also a professional project manager. This skill set will keep us focused on the timely delivery of important milestones at the CVS and Terra Cotta Projects. Walter is a great communicator and extremely organized. I look forward to his leadership in the field and in the boardroom.”
Mr. Highsmith continued with respect to the resignation of Dr. Andy Robinson, “It has been a pleasure working alongside Andy for the last year. We have learned a lot from him in the field during the drilling campaigns. He did an excellent job in leading the engineering team through the mini-pilot plant and to the production of the first flowsheet for the CVS Project, which was released in December of last year. We wish him success and good fortune in his future endeavors.”
About Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.
Pure Energy is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the burgeoning lithium battery industry. The Company is currently focused on the development of the CVS Lithium Brine Project and the adjoining Glory Lithium Clay Project in Clayton Valley, Nevada. Pure Energy also recently announced the acquisition of a purchase option on a major new lithium brine project in the Lithium Triangle of South America, the Terra Cotta Project (TCP). The TCP is located on Pocitos Salar in Salta, Argentina, where it enjoys some of the best infrastructure and access of any lithium brine exploration project in the country.
Pure Energy has developed core strengths in innovative development and processing technologies for lithium brines and lithium mineral deposits. The Company’s key attributes and activities include:
- Generating positive results on a large land position with excellent infrastructure in a first-class mining jurisdiction: approx. 11,000 acres in four main claim groups in Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada;
- The only lithium brine resource in North America except for its neighbor, which is the only producing lithium operation in the United States (Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium brine mine);
- An inferred mineral resource containing approximately 816,000 metric tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of approximately 102 mg/L lithium, reported in accordance with NI 43-101 (see July 2015 Inferred Resource Report);
- An advanced program of testing the efficacy and economics of modern environmentally-responsible processing technologies to convert the CVS brines into high purity lithium products for new energy storage uses;
- A new early stage exploration program on the 13,000 hectare Terra Cotta Project (TCP), located on Pocitos Salar in Salta Province; and
- An active business development program, applying its expertise to the evaluation of new lithium targets around the world.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
“Patrick Highsmith”
Chief Executive Officer
Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release may include statements regarding the fulfilment of the Company’s obligations under the Agreement, the preparation of the technical report in respect of the Properties, the approval of the Agreement by the TSX Venture Exchange, mineral processing, adaptation of test work to larger scale and/or future operational scales, estimates of reduced future capital and operating expenses, delivery of a preliminary economic assessment, future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, and mineral tenure issues. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
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