Categories: Base Metals / Energy
Topics: General Base Metals / General Energy

Nevada Sunrise Metals (TSX-V: NEV)(OTC: NVSGF) CEO Warren Stanyer on Phase-One Drilling into Lithium Clays, and Potential Brine, at Flagship 100%-Owned Gemini Lithium Project, Nevada

 

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the president & CEO of Nevada Sunrise Metals — Mr. Warren Stanyer. Warren, it's great to have you on. We are overdue for a catch up. How are you, sir?

Warren Stanyer: I'm great, thanks, Gerardo. I hope you're doing well. And it has been a while and it's just been kind of busy getting things all set up and ready in Nevada so we haven't had a chance to do this.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, let's get right into it. I'll state right off the bat here that I am a very biased, long-term and committed shareholder that is highly vested in success at the 100%-owned Gemini Lithium Project in Nevada. That program, of course, has commenced. I wanted to get you on the record and see how things are coming along.

Warren Stanyer: Well, we're drilling very carefully through these clay stratigraphies. They're tough to get through, and if you don't do it in a very methodical manner, then you can lose a hole, which is expensive and time consuming and basically gets everybody really upset. So we don't want that. 

What we want is just a steady progress and we're making it. We're still on hole number three. We're on a driller's break right now. And we're changing in a new drill because we started with a slightly smaller drill, and now we've got a drill coming in to literally take over, like changing horses in midstream, where we know this drill can drill over 2,000 feet. 

So that was the drill we had contracted, and it was tied up on another job, which is why we had the delay that we had. So we got going and we're doing well, and we've got samples in the lab.

Gerardo Del Real: You have samples in the lab. Now, obviously, I'll caution that without assays, we never know what you really have, right? And so I'll preface my question with that, but I have to ask, you've been through a successful drill program, a very successful and limited first phase drill program. How are the visuals of what you're seeing? How do they compare to what you saw in the first pass program?

Warren Stanyer: Well, as we have said many times, the green clay was the first indication of something that was lithium-bearing, and anyone that just drove up to our drill site would see a green color in the sump. It's a big system there. I mean, there's no question of that. This is a big basin filled with clays of various types, but certainly we're seeing kind of what we expected to see. 

It may be a little different in the northern part with hole number three — which is north of holes one and two — but we are seeing similar stratigraphies. And when we finish this hole, we'll probably move to the south and to the west a bit just to see exactly how broad these stratigraphies are.

Gerardo Del Real: You said hole three, and you mentioned how these holes are all in different parts. How far along is the program as far as drilling goes? And then, I want you to provide some context, Warren, on how spaced out these holes are. Because I think that's important for people that may be looking at this story and going, ‘Well, clay, yeah, nice… lithium and clays, excellent grades… yeah, that's nice too… but how much potential scale is there, right?’ 

How far are these holes? Are they just going 50 meters, 100 meters apart, and then kind of milking the program? Or are you being serious about defining some scale here?

Warren Stanyer: Well, it's almost like when people look for potash; potash holes are far apart. In our case, the distance between holes one and two was 0.7 of a mile, 0.69 of a mile. This is slightly less. The distance between holes two and three, I think, we're at about a half mile, maybe 0.6. So that's, let's see, I'm a Canadian, so I have to think in meters too… so two thirds of a mile is what… about 1,000 yards or 1,200 yards or something like that… 

Gerardo Del Real: Give or take… yes, sir.

Warren Stanyer: So about 1,000 meters; about a kilometer. So these are pretty widely spaced. And with a deposit that this could be, with something like this, you would expect that your holes could be wider spaced because of the nature of the deposition of these clays.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. When do you anticipate assays? And I have to ask, in that phase-one program, you also sent some samples of the water that you encountered, which was highly encouraging to me because, again, high lithium values in clay is excellent, right? That's a great start to any program. 

Having high lithium values in water and the potential for a brine would be an absolute game changer if you're able to vector in towards a brine. Have you encountered water in this program? Are there samples being sent in on the water as well, or is it just the clays?

Warren Stanyer: I will say we've submitted clay and water samples — and that's what I can say.

Gerardo Del Real: Clay and water samples… excellent. Any timeframe on when we can expect to see initial assays or results from the samples that have been submitted?

Warren Stanyer: Well, we use a lab in Reno that will do a rush. Very few labs will do that. So we're expecting to put some news out fairly soon on our first set of rushed samples, and then, what I call the bulk of the samples will go to a second lab. They're pretty quick, but they're four weeks pretty much. 

That's pretty good these days compared to some of what's been happening up in Canada at some of the labs that we deal with, say, in nickel and uranium where it can be 6, 8, 12 weeks. And then, the water, it's usually a minimum of a couple of weeks. So there's no real predictable timeline for the water. It depends on how busy they are but I'm not sure that it's that busy. So I hope we'll get something here before the end of the month.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Warren, anything else to add to how the program is progressing? What comes next? How you're feeling about what you're seeing — anything there?

Warren Stanyer: Well, I was approached by a metallurgist out of Reno, a very experienced one that worked with BHP for many years, just kind of throwing the ball around with him and realizing we had a lot of people in common. I've been doing this for 25 years now and have been exposed to a lot of different companies and people. 

His name is Willem Duyvesteyn. It's a Dutch name and I have to practice how to pronounce it correctly, but I know that's the best way to say it. Willem Duyvesteyn is a great addition to our team as a consultant, and he's taking his first look at our clays and our water from phase-one drilling. And I can't wait to discuss that in public because not only is he experienced, but I think we're getting a good assessment from him on our potential here… and it's just beginning.

Gerardo Del Real: Can I ask what specifically he's looking at, right? When we talk about a metallurgist, and you mentioned BHP, obviously, anybody with that kind of background is going to be pretty diligent and experienced in their due diligence. And so can I ask specifically what you're hoping to learn or whatever knowledge you're hoping to advance through his background and experience?

Warren Stanyer: Well, his background is in extraction and feasibility of extraction, and the quality and competency of an extractive process. So what he's doing is comparing the elements in our clays and in our brine that we found just by looking at the analyses that we delivered to him, and he will look at what the potential is for extraction. And I like what I'm hearing, so that's all I can really say right now as it’s really just getting started.

Gerardo Del Real: Warren, that's a pretty thorough update. Assays pending on the clay and the water. We're hoping to get a clear picture, hopefully, in the near future on potential extraction. And I would imagine that would lead to, at the very least, a ballpark or guesstimate on potential economics once you figure out the scale, correct?

Warren Stanyer: Yeah, we're planning to submit larger samples to a lab that specializes in extractive technology and basically tells you what kind of clays you have. I mean, there's a number of different types — what elements are binding things together, what elements are soluble and extractable — and that's the step forward that we need to take.

Gerardo Del Real: I’ve got to believe your phone's been ringing.

Warren Stanyer: Well, it has been a little bit quiet because, I don't know, just something about the investor climate has been a little bit concerning and shaky in the last little while. I think the ripples of high interest rates have kind of hurt the market, so people are a little undecided as to which way to go. But I'm looking forward to our results kind of countering that tide.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, I know the stock has pulled back a bit. I had a few subscribers and friends that have participated in recent financings kind of reach out and ask me about it. I think it's pretty clear, right? 

High interest rates and conservative approach aside, I think the most recent financing came free trading, and I think anybody that's any kind of nervous about these markets likely said, ‘Well, let me sell some shares and keep the warrant,’ which is fine if you're looking just to trade for a few pennies. 

The prize here and the reason that I've been writing checks for many, many years has never been about a few pennies. And so I am looking forward to all of the results and the findings from the gentleman that has come on as a consultant. Warren, can't thank you enough for the update… look to do it on a more frequent basis.

Warren Stanyer: You're very welcome, Gerardo. I'll look forward to the next time when we have more hard numbers.

Gerardo Del Real: Looking forward to it. Thanks, Warren. Cheers.

Warren Stanyer: Thank you. Take care.