VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC) (NYSE: LAC) (“ Lithium Americas ” or the “ Company ”) has reported financial and operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 (“ Q2 2023 ”).

HIGHLIGHTS

Argentina

Caucharí-Olaroz

In June 2023, Caucharí-Olaroz achieved first lithium production as the project advances commissioning and ramp up to Stage 1 capacity of 40,000 tonnes per annum (“ tpa ”) of battery-quality lithium carbonate (” Li CO ”), which is scheduled to be completed in mid-2024.

Since startup, production quality has exceeded expectations with critical equipment required to achieve battery-quality lithium carbonate in the process of testing and commissioning.

Caucharí-Olaroz is expected to produce approximately 5,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate in 2023.

First lithium product from Caucharí-Olaroz has left the site and is being prepared for shipment at the port.

As of June 30, 2023, $895 million of the $979 million total expected capex has been spent (on a 100% basis). As of June 30, 2023, the Company expects its remaining funding requirement to be less than $25 million for capital costs, value added taxes and working capital to reach positive cash flow.

Preparation for Caucharí-Olaroz Stage 2 expansion targeting additional production capacity of at least 20,000 tpa is underway.

Pastos Grandes Basin

On June 26, 2023, the Company announced the SEDAR filing of a National Instrument 43-101 (“ NI 43-101 ”) Technical Report and resource update for the Pastos Grandes Project titled, “NI 43-101 Technical Report, Lithium Resources Update, Pastos Grandes Project, Salta Province, Argentina,” with an effective date of April 30, 2023.

The Company continues to advance Pastos Grandes’ $30 million development plan, including engineering and evaluation work, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Simultaneously, the Company is working to complete a project review and an updated feasibility study.

A geophysics program to map the basin and brine geological units has been completed and drilling has commenced. This will allow the Company to deepen its understanding of the brine reserves and provide key inputs to design the brine production system.

On April 20, 2023, the Company completed its acquisition of Arena Minerals and its 65% ownership interest in the Sal de la Puna project, adjacent to the Pastos Grandes project in Salta, Argentina.

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lithium-americas-reports-second-quarter-203600985.html