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A.I.S. Resources’ mining projects to help meet demand for key metals

A.I.S Resources’ mining projects position the company well to help meet the soaring demand for gold and lithium. The global energy transition to renewable power and electric vehicles (EVs) is triggering a massive surge in demand for strategic battery metals, especially lithium. According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), demand for lithium is expected to grow 40-fold by 2040, making it an essential commodity for companies like A.I.S. Resources.

Ending the lithium shortage: AIS is poised to help skyrocket global battery supply

AIS Resources is on the verge of a massive royalty income stream as its partners develop six projects in Argentina’s Lithium Triangle that could flip the global lithium battery shortage on its head. Consumers and businesses are frustrated over the well-publicised lithium shortage that has curbed the production of electric vehicles (EVs), computer processors, and countless other products. But China’s potential invasion of Taiwan is not playing a role: lithium is the centrepiece of rechargeable energy, which has become the focal point of global commerce, and there simply is not enough of it being produced. The primary cause of this crisis is the absence of lithium – the most important resource in the challenge to electrify the world’s power sources.

A.I.S. Resources Chairman Martyn Element: Manganese to Emerge Among Battery Metals

– February 19th, 2020A.I.S. Resources CEO Martyn Element

A.I.S. Resources Chairman Martyn Element joined INN at to discuss his company’s progress in the manganese market, the future of electric vehicles and the dominant trends that are most likely to shape the resource industry moving forward.

A.I.S. Resources (TSXV:AIS,OTCQB:AISSF) Chairman Martyn Element joined the Investing News Network at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference to discuss his company’s progress in the manganese market, the future of the electric vehicle market and the dominant trends that are most likely to shape the resource industry moving forward.

A.I.S. Resources recently completed sourcing and shipping an order of manganese to send to a client in China. The 292 dry metric tons of manganese were assayed at 53.66 percent by the purchaser following shipment.

According to Element, the move towards electric vehicles has created significant demand for manganese, lithium, copper and other metals commonly used in rechargeable batteries and the vehicles themselves. Despite the potential in similar industries, Element maintains that A.I.S. Resources is focused on the manganese industry. However, there is potential for a new company to be created by A.I.S. as an investment issuer moving forward.

Below is a transcript of our interview with A.I.S. Resources Chairman Martyn Element. It has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Investing News Network: What is the name of your company, what is its symbol, where would we find you and which market?

A.I.S. Resources Chairman Martyn Element: We are on the TSXV and have been around since 1968. We’ve never been consolidated and never been rolled back. The company is an investment issuer, A.I.S. Resources, and our symbol is AIS.

INN: And you’ve been around for a little while.

ME: I’ve personally been around for a little while; I was a broker in the early 1980s in corporate finance. I finished up with a local firm here as Director of Corporate Finance for Pacific International. I had a client that was beginning to take a lot of my time so I went full-time with the client and that was called Clearly Canadian. I found them their first money and I found all the money for Clearly Canadian, which, of course, went from 50 cents to C$31 a share. So I left Pacific International and went on my own in corporate advisory and corporate finance.

INN: For those who don’t know what manganese is, why is this an important element as we move into the green sector?

ME: It’s not a well-followed metal, but it’s beginning to be now as it’s starting to come into vogue. There’s quite an accomplished fellow who is a director over at Canaccord — he has a deal called Euro Manganese that he’s going to be producing from a tailing situation just outside Prague, and he’s going to be producing manganese in 2024. He’s capped at about C$30 million I think, so it’s significant money he’s got. He’s single-handedly putting manganese a little bit more on the map. Manganese is used as a strengthener in steel traditionally, but it’s now beginning to be used more in futuristic car batteries. Manganese and cobalt are two of the metals that are being integrated into these longer extended batteries.

Manganese is starting to get the spotlight and cobalt is beginning to get the spotlight as well. We looked at the lithium market and lithium had quite a significant correction. With all these new cars coming out, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more lithium in the future. However, we looked at manganese and we decided that we didn’t want to mine it, we didn’t want to get involved in that, but we saw an opportunity to start getting involved in the trading of manganese. So we shipped our first manganese as a company about two months ago now, and we are expecting to have news of that shipment soon. There’s a learning curve, but it was a small amount relatively speaking. We shipped 400 tonnes of product which is still 21 or 22 containers, so it was a lot of work but we got it done and we hope to be in a position to announce that shortly. We’ve now discovered that in this marketplace to be a meaningful player will require a minimum of 5,000 tonnes.

In the last three weeks, we’ve written up two contracts for 5,000 tonnes. One was with a very large company, a $9 billion corporation called Erdos out of China. Another was with a company that we haven’t announced yet, so we’re awaiting clarification on that. Then just in the last three or four days, we’ve written a contract up for 50,000 tonnes.

Peru is not the country for that sort of quantity. So we’ve now gone further afield and we’re now sourcing in Zambia and indirectly into Tanzania and Brazil with larger amounts because for those sorts of quantities you’ve got to be able to have the supply. My CEO is a very accomplished fellow, he’s a mineral adviser in Australia, he’s one of 12 men in Australia considered in such high esteem, so he’s very qualified in all metals. He’s doing a lot of the sourcing and we are going to be the agent on these trades. To give you an idea about the money involved, on a 5,000-tonne order, our revenue at the end of the day would be just over US$1,000,000, so there’s a lot of money at stake here.

We’re all very excited about what we’re doing. We’re getting a reputation, we’re new guys, but we’re not without a resource and we’re not without players in the world and they are looking. One of the reasons there’s been a delay with our shipment is that the price of manganese went down and now it’s coming right back to where it was six months or nine months ago, which is more than holding its price, so it’s a nice place to be.

INN: Do you foresee demand for more battery power?

ME: That’s coming. People like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and these big companies are starting to get a little nervous. They’re forward buying products like manganese and lithium of course because they don’t want to get caught. When the wave comes, it’s going to be bigger than anybody would ever estimate.

INN: You touched on lithium as one of the commodities that you’re still in. Where is your lithium project at?

ME: We went into Argentina and we drilled three properties. We hit lithium on all three, but we didn’t get the parts per million. So, we didn’t get it. Millennial Lithium (TSXV:ML,OTCQX:MLNLF) did. They drilled less than 30 kilometers from one of our wells and they hit but we didn’t; it was a mother nature situation.

Now they’ve just recently changed the government again in Argentina and things are getting out of control a little bit there with inflation, the new president and a lot of the business philosophy. So, we’ve kept some key personnel in Argentina and we’re closely monitoring the situation. We’re not walking away, we’re just keeping it close. So we’re keeping our hand in but we’re not going after anything at the moment in the lithium field, we’re focusing on manganese.

INN: What are your connections like in Asia? Who do you have as a representative that’s out helping to tell your story in those complex marketplaces?

ME: The people we met in Montreal are employed close to the Chinese government and they have been incredible. We have two ladies working for us who have been successfully sourcing supply for us. I have a very close personal relationship with a very famous racing car driver, Emerson Fittipaldi from Brazil. He has told me that he’s very keen once we have a track record of success. He’s been working in China with the two biggest car manufacturers in China and the largest car manufacturer in Korea, which is KIA (KRX:000270). He said, “Martyn, when the time comes, I will take you and we will go together to meet the guys that run these plants but we have to have the success of a few things.”

So I have a few options through him. I’m going to put an advisory board together in the coming months along with some fund manager friends of mine out of Australia. We’ll have Emerson, of course, heading up the advisory board as well and I think it’s all going to come together really nicely.

INN: How important do you see manganese being in the future development of automotive batteries?

ME: Mercedes Benz is buying forward, buying lithium and other metals as we speak and they have to because the world is waiting for the explosion of cars. They’re coming on now fast and furious, with the Volkswagen (OTC Pink:VLKAF,FWB:VOW) Golf, even Volvo is going 100 percent electric by 2025. I’ve driven an electric car now for three or four years and I absolutely love it. My last car was an exotic; I had an Aston Martin DB9 Volante and it was a beautiful car. But then it was just too fast and I didn’t need it, so I’ve got an electric vehicle, a Nissan (OTC Pink:NSANY,TSE:7201) Leaf, and I love that car. Now I’m looking at the Jag, the new SUV electric that they have.

INN: Right. You’re connected to other markets as well aren’t you?

ME: Yes, yes. Well, all markets. We’re covering a lot of different things with gold through our endeavors in Peru. After two or three months, a group brought us a really nice gold property that is producing gold from two veins. Philip Thomas, a certified Mineral Valuer and Geo Scientist with the Australian Institute of Mineral Valuers and Appraisers, went out and had a close look at the property and he thinks there’s potential there for the swarming of veins that could reveal 12 to 18 veins, but it needs a little bit of money spent on it. We’ll earn our way up to 50 percent on a cash-flowing small gold mine.

There’s a county in the world that has changed all its mining laws and we’ve been working closely with some representatives there on very, very big projects in the gold world. But I don’t want to confuse investors. We have geared towards manganese. If we do something in a big way in gold, we won’t do it directly. Because of the way A.I.S. is structured, we can put an umbrella over a big deal coming in and we can vend it out quite successfully. Then you take the shareholders from A.I.S. and they get a piece of the action as we give birth to another company.

INN: OK, for somebody at home watching right now. What is my investment opportunity with you at the moment?

ME: You’ve got a company that’s capped at C$3.5 million, which of course is nothing these days. The major shareholders in A.I.S. are very big players because of my reputation and where I’ve been and they’re all staying in there, hanging in at five cents. So I think as we close on some of these bigger manganese transactions, the stock is just going to go up, very substantially and very quickly. It’s an opportunity to put some investment into the current situation and be ready for significant developments very, very shortly.

We’ve got the infrastructure, we’ve got the players and we’ve got the pedigree with me and my successes. I’m watching the market and I’m thinking you can’t ignore gold right now. I’ve got a lot of people who’ve said to me, “Look, if you do something, we’ll do something significant with you as well.” So, I’m very confident. As I’ve stressed, we will be managing, we won’t be mining, we’ll be creating another company within A.I.S. as an investment issuer.

INN: Wonderful, thank you very much.

ME: Thank you for a great interview. Thank you.

A.I.S. Resources: A New Gold Prospect + Manganese Trading + Li Extraction Technology

Peter EpsteinStreetWise Reports – Contributed Opinion

Source: Peter Epstein for Streetwise Reports  (12/11/19)
Peter Epstein of Epstein Research profiles a company that is reinventing itself as moderately diversified battery metals company.

Manganese

In the midst of tax loss selling across many sectors—not just battery metals (lithium, cobalt, manganese, vanadium, etc.) but cannabis/hemp segments as well (and most other metals/mining/mineral sectors)A.I.S. Resources Ltd. (AIS:TSX.V; AISSF:OTSQB) recently announced good news. Is the market ignoring ongoing positive developments at the company?

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Management has successfully arranged for the supply of up to 30k tonnes/month of high-grade (48%–52%) Manganese (Mn) to China and is embarking on a trial shipment of 5–10k tonnes. Reaching this significant tonnage (which is not a sure thing) has been a consistent goal since April/May. If A.I.S. achieves 20k–30k tonnes/month, it would be an excellent outcome, assuming it can consistently deliver in that range.

Management has arranged the Mn sourcing with two African suppliers, and is negotiating a supply agreement with giant, multi-billion dollar Erdos Group, one of the world’s largest buyers of Mn. A.I.S. has issued a term sheet for a trial shipment of 5–10k tonnes, expected in January. The fact that Erdos is willing to work with A.I.S. is an impressive vote of confidence in the management team.

The trial shipment will reportedly gross ~US$2 million, subject to a final delivered grade of ~50% Mn. A.I.S. will be responsible for all logistics, including quality control, assays, shipping and related activities.

Additional suppliers from Brazil and Panama, among other places, have approached management about selling ore into A.I.S.’ trading strategy. Negotiations are underway. Importantly, detailed discussions are being held with trade and project financiers from London, Dubai and Canada to facilitate payments for the purchase and shipment of Mn ore to China. Although a risk factor, management believes that obtaining trade financing will not be problem.

This news comes on the heels of another positive development, but one that failed to capture investor’s need for instant gratification. On October 24th, management locked down an option to acquire an initial 51% interest in a gold mine in northern Peru. The mine is currently producing small quantities of gold.

After completing due diligence and determining the extent and concentration of gold mineralization, A.I.S. will contribute US$500k worth of equipment and technical expertise to increase mine productivity. Low-cost due diligence efforts will focus on drilling, soil sampling, mapping and design of a process circuit. The target is 8–10 vein systems with up to 5,000 tonnes of ore in each, grading 10g/t Au or better.

Investors have questions about this new gold project: How long will it take to do proper due diligence? Will A.I.S. need to raise additional equity capital? Company-wide funding is a concern; management needs to come up with trade finance for Mn trading, cash or a gold loan for the new gold project, and US$1 million for a 15% investment in a private lithium extraction technology company.

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Readers may recall that on October 8th, A.I.S. signed an option agreement with Ekos Research, requiring an investment of US$1 million, for a 15% stake in a breakthrough lithium solvent extraction process that produces lithium chloride with 99.2% purity, but more importantly can manage high-magnesium bearing brines found in salars in Argentina like Rincón and Salinas Grandes.

Rapid lithium extraction (without solar evaporation ponds), with high recoveries and purity levels, and a strong environmental profile, is the holy grail. There are dozens of technologies in the works, but none (that I’m aware of) are operating at full commercial scale anywhere in the world.

Management gave me an example of a 20,000 tonne per year lithium carbonate plant that could reduce its cap-ex from $560 million to $210 million by using this new technology. With no evaporation ponds, the process can easily be turned on and off, and there’s no ground water issues.

How far will US$1 million take this emerging technology? While I have respect for the A.I.S. technical team being able to expertly evaluate a promising lithium extraction technology, it could take years to reach meaningful cash flow (net to the company’s 15% interest).

Ekosolve is building a semi-commercial scale demonstration plant for under US$1 million, so the cash contributed by A.I.S will go directly into this demonstration plant with a nine-month build. I’m told there is at least one producer having their brines tested now.

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Is management spreading themselves too thin? The company is now reportedly pursuing three projects at once; lithium technology, manganese trading and a gold joint venture, spanning several countries (Peru, Australia, Tanzania, China). Management doesn’t think so, and they’re only actively spending on Mn trading at the moment. Gold project due diligence costs are said to be minimal.

CEO Phil Thomas has more than 17 years’ experience in lithium technologies being highly qualified in geochemistry especially lithium, worked for more than 15 years in trading ores and has explored and operated five gold mines, with eight staff in Peru and two in China. Phil is based in Australia.

Yes, the shares of A.I.S. Resources remain highly speculative, but the upside potential is bigger than ever before. Can a company with a $3.8 million market cap (83.4 million shares at $0.045) move its Mn project forward over the next 3, 6, 12 months without massive equity dilution?

I like the diversification here, Mn, Au (gold) + a Li extraction technology. Management saw the decline in lithium prices and prudently dropped their Guayatayoc lithium project. Consider the difference in pricing of lithium (down a lot) and gold (up moderately). A year ago, A.I.S. was solely an Argentina lithium brine play. If management had not branched out into other sectors, the company would be dead in the water like many others in South America’s Lithium Triangle.

If all goes according to plan, which is rarely the case for somewhat complex logistical operations, A.I.S. has the opportunity to become cash flow positive within six months. I think it’s great that cash flow from Mn trading could be deployed into a gold project rather than a lithium brine story in Argentina.

Although the avoidance of further equity dilution is very important to the management team, readers should probably assume some equity issuance as a necessary evil. A.I.S. should be able to get by with a modest raise before reaching cash flow break even next year. There’s reason to expect only minimal equity dilution because management believes it can secure trade/working capital financing. The announcement of non-dilutive financing working cap would be a tremendous de-risking event.

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Bottom line, A.I.S. Resources (TSX-V – AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) is worth a lot more than $3.8 million if it can reach 20k–30k tonnes/month of Mn trading. Management has a number of boxes checked in this endeavor, but there are more boxes to tick.

Working with Erdos and sending them a sizable (trial) bulk shipment is great news, but timing is everything. A three-month delay in reaching 20k–30k tonnes/month could make a big difference in the number of shares outstanding.

However, to reiterate, if all goes reasonably as planned, there’s substantial upside from the current $3.8 million valuation.

Peter Epstein is the founder of Epstein Research. His background is in company and financial analysis. He holds an MBA degree in financial analysis from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

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Disclosures: The content of this article is for information only. Readers fully understand and agree that nothing contained herein, written by Peter Epstein of Epstein Research [ER], (together, [ER]) about A.I.S. Resources, including but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts, calculations, etc. is not to be considered implicit or explicit investment advice. Nothing contained herein is a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security. [ER] is not responsible under any circumstances for investment actions taken by the reader. [ER] has never been, and is not currently, a registered or licensed financial advisor or broker/dealer, investment advisor, stockbroker, trader, money manager, compliance or legal officer, and does not perform market making activities. [ER] is not directly employed by any company, group, organization, party or person. The shares of A.I.S. Resources are highly speculative, not suitable for all investors. It is assumed and agreed upon by readers that they will consult with their own licensed or registered financial advisors before making any investment decisions.

At the time this article was posted, Peter Epstein owned no shares of A.I.S. Resources and the Company was an advertiser on [ER].

Readers understand and agree that they must conduct their own due diligence above and beyond reading this article. While the author believes he’s diligent in screening out companies that, for any reasons, are unattractive investment opportunities, he cannot guarantee that his efforts will (or have been) successful. [ER] is not responsible for any perceived, or actual, errors including, but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts, financial calculations, etc., or for the completeness of this interview or future content. [ER] is not expected or required to subsequently follow or cover events & news, or write about any particular company. [ER] is not an expert in any company, industry sector or investment topic.

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A.I.S. Resources Guayatayoc Mina Lithium Project, North Argentina Option Agreement Extended

Vancouver, British Columbia – A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX: AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) (the “Company” or “AIS”) is pleased to announce that its Guayatayoc option agreement has been extended to June 15, 2019 at no additional cost to AIS.  The extension was granted as a result of the UGAMP meeting being deferred until such time as the President of the Rincondillas Community signs the Assembly document which was a Department of Mining pre-requisite for the meeting.

Our team in Jujuy will continue dialogue with the Rincondillas Community to respond to their queries and resolve concerns preparatory to signing the Assembly document and scheduling the UGAMP meeting.

We have provided the Jujuy Department of Mining with the results of our base line environmental study that monitored air, water and soil in the locations they indicated. The results of the surface water testing were very encouraging with commercial grades of lithium concentrated. The table below sets out the values of the samples taken from Guayatayoc Mina.

Sample No

 lithium ppm Boron

Potassium ppm

MS 1

213 128 4907

MS 2

441 14138

8143

MS 3 418 666

9468

Note 1. These lithium values are above the benchmark values of being commercially viable.

Note 2. The potassium lithium ratio rule of thumb is 1:15 i.e. 10,000ppm of K indicates rates of approximately 660ppm Li.

Figure 1 – Sampling surface water.

Figure 2 – Surface water.

Phil Thomas CEO said that, “We were very appreciative of the concession that Ekeko SA has made to extend our option from March 31, 2019 to June, 15 2019.  The team in Jujuy are very hopeful that all the outstanding issues can be resolved and we can move on to the next three drill holes to progress this exciting lithium brine project.  We remain the only option holder with a Mining Permit in the salar”.

Qualified Person
Phillip Thomas, BSc. Geol, MBusM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Thomas is not independent of the Company as he is Chief Executive Officer and a shareholder.

About A.I.S. Resources
A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop projects worldwide that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Company’s current activities are focused on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors, AIS Resources Ltd.
Phillip Thomas, President & CEO

Corporate Contact
Phillip Thomas
President & CEO
T: 747 200 9412
E: pthomas@aisresources.com

Martyn Element
Chairman
T: 604 687 6820
E: melement@aisresources.com

Website: www.aisresources.com

ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

A.I.S. Resources Amends News Release Announcing Closing of $710,000 Financing

Vancouver, British Columbia – A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX: AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) (the “Company” or “AIS”) wishes to amend its news release dated February 26, 2019 in which it announced the closing of its $710,000 non-brokered private placement.

Finders warrants have been amended from 8,000 finders warrants to 10,667 finders warrants.

About A.I.S. Resources
A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop projects worldwide that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Company’s current activities are focused on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors, AIS Resources Ltd.
Phillip Thomas, President & CEO

Corporate Contact
Phillip Thomas
President & CEO
T: 747 200 9412
E: pthomas@aisresources.com

Martyn Element
Chairman
T: 604 687 6820
E: melement@aisresources.com

Website: www.aisresources.com

ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

A.I.S. Resources Closes $710,000 Financing

Vancouver, British Columbia – A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX: AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) (the “Company” or “AIS”) is pleased to announce that it has completed the sale of 12,622,222 units (“Units”) at $0.05625 per unit for gross proceeds of $710,000, (the “Private Placement”). The proceeds will be used for exploration on the Guayatayoc property and for general working capital purposes. Each unit consists of one common share and one transferrable share purchase warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share for a period of 12 months from the closing date of the offering at a price of $0.12 per common share provided that if the closing price of the common shares of the Company on any stock exchange or quotation system on which the common shares are then listed or quoted is equal to or greater than $0.20 for a period of fifteen (15) consecutive trading days, the Company will have the right to accelerate the expiry of the warrants to a date that is not less than ten (10) business days from the date notice is given. The Company will pay finders fees totaling $600 and issue 8,000 finders warrants. The Common Shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement and the exercise of the Warrants will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the closing date of the Private Placement, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. Closing is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

About A.I.S. Resources
A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop projects worldwide that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Company’s current activities are focused on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors, AIS Resources Ltd.
Phillip Thomas, President & CEO

Corporate Contact
Phillip Thomas
President & CEO
T: 747 200 9412
E: pthomas@aisresources.com

Martyn Element
Chairman
T: 604 687 6820
E: melement@aisresources.com

Website: www.aisresources.com

ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

A.I.S. Resources Guayatayoc Mina Lithium Project, North Argentina Completes Initial Analysis of Six Brine Samples from Drill Hole 1 with Excellent MG:LI Ratios

Vancouver, British Columbia – A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX: AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) (the “Company” or “AIS”) is pleased to announce that the lithium brine samples taken from Drill Hole 1 (DH1) at the Company’s Guayatayoc Mina lithium project have been analysed by SGS, an international accredited chemistry analysis firm in Salta.

The results are excellent given this hole had to be moved 150 metres east of the target zone to the Quebralenas area where we have drilling rights. We expect to receive our drilling permit for the target zone which is in the Rincondillas area within 30 days of the 28thFebruary 2019 UGAMP meeting.

  • Mg:Li ratio is below 8 with an average of 7.1, which means we will have a lower cost of production, in the event we reach the production stage, as we will only need 7 parts of calcium hydroxide to remove the magnesium.
  • Lithium range is 95-106ppm. Our minimum commercial value is 187ppm in our production model. Pit G6 sampled 270ppm Li which was previously reported.

Potassium and boron are both low thus the sodium sulphate input for the potassium removal and the ion exchange system to remove the boron will not be of any significance.

Phil Thomas CEO said that, “These results are great news given the location where we drilled was not optimal. We intersected porous green and brown clays containing salt and sand and didn’t encounter any major fresh water sub-aquifers that would have collapsed the hole and contaminated it with fresh water. The lithium values are in the ball park but more important is the lithium to magnesium ratio, being sub 8 on average. This is encouraging news and we look forward to drilling Rincondillas in the target zone where the resistivity areas are sub 0.015ohm-m where we expect to encounter much higher lithium values and higher specific gravity due to lithium concentration at depth. We have four drill holes planned in the target zone with a depth of 250m each. Now that we have the lithology from DH1 it enables us to improve the accuracy of our geological model.”

Figure 1 – The star shows the location of DH1. G1- G36 show where we have trenched and sampled and the solid yellow lines are the VES geophysics traverses. The black lines show the community boundaries.

Figure 2 – Is the geophysics at 100m depth. The DH1 location was moved another 50 metres to the east away from the target zone, to the 0.025 Ohm-m zone. The community boundaries are marked in red. The geophysics traverse line is in black.

Figure 3 – Shows traverse 11750 or line 1 in Rincondillas area and the target zone (dark purple area) which is 150m in depth and 7 kilometres wide with a length of 5 kilometres. The target zone has a resisitivity of 0.015ohm-m, lower than salt water which is 0.025 Ohm-m.

Qualified Person
Phillip Thomas, BSc. Geol, MBusM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Thomas is not independent of the Company as he is Chief Executive Officer and a shareholder.

About A.I.S. Resources
A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop projects worldwide that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Company’s current activities are focused on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors, AIS Resources Ltd.
Phillip Thomas, President & CEO

Corporate Contact
Phillip Thomas
President & CEO
T: 747 200 9412
E: pthomas@aisresources.com

Martyn Element
Chairman
T: 604 687 6820
E: melement@aisresources.com

Website: www.aisresources.com

ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

A.I.S. Resources Guayatayoc Mina Lithium Project, North Argentina Completes First Drill Hole at 400M UGAMP Meeting for Guayatayoc III Set for February 28, 2019

Vancouver, British Columbia – A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX: AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) (the “Company” or “AIS”) is pleased to announce that drill hole one on Guayatayoc Mina was completed 6 February 2019.  A brine sample will be taken at the 400 metre level today and downhole geophysics undertaken over the weekend to determine porosity and permeability.  Brine sampling commenced at the Guayatayoc Mina lithium project in Northern Argentina on January 29, 2019 at 295 metres with further samples taken at the 350 metre and 400 metre intervals. 

SGS, an international accredited chemistry analysis firm in Salta advise that preliminary results will be available in the next three to four days and full analysis results late next week.

Figure 1 – Drill core shows the transition from clays and halites to gray sands at 397 m

Phil Thomas CEO said, “Drilling was very fast and we intersected a sand unit near the bottom of the hole which didn’t have as much brine as the clay halite units above it. The sand unit was possibly an ancient river area where clean sand had settled but was not compacted.  Dr Romina Steinmetz who completed her PhD at Guayatayoc visited the  drill site and inspected the core. This analysis was consistent with the geophysics so there was no advantage to drill deeper.  We are looking forward to the results from SGS and downhole geophysics as it will have a lot of information we can use when we drill in Rincondillas area in Guayatayoc III.  It is great that we got the Rincondillas UGAMP meeting scheduled for 28 February 2019 allowing us to progress this exciting lithium project”.

Qualified Person
Phillip Thomas, BSc. Geol, MBusM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Thomas is not independent of the Company as he is Chief Executive Officer and a shareholder. 

About A.I.S. Resources
A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop projects worldwide that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Company’s current activities are focused on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors, AIS Resources Ltd.
Phillip Thomas, President & CEO

Corporate Contact
Phillip Thomas
President & CEO
T: 747 200 9412
E: pthomas@aisresources.com

Martyn Element
Chairman
T: 604 687 6820
E: melement@aisresources.com

Website: www.aisresources.com

ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

A.I.S. Resources Guayatayoc Mina, North Argentina Commenced Brine Sampling January 29, 2019, with Packer Test 295-305 Metres

Vancouver, British Columbia – A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX: AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) (the “Company” or “AIS”) is pleased to announce that brine sampling commenced at the Guayatayoc Mina in Northern Argentina on January 29, 2019 at 295 metres depth. The target depth is 400 metres.

Figure 1 – Drill Rig Guayatayoc Mina

Brine sampling using a handheld resistivity meter has provided the following encouraging results and confirms the previous results at 200m:

  • Resistivity 188.5 ms (micro siemens) (three times the salt concentration of sea water which is 54 ms)
  • Specific Gravity is 1.15 (fresh water is 1.0) (lithium brines are usually 1.2-1.25)
  • Ph is 6.85 (slightly acid which is possibly due to the presence of chlorides that combine with Li, Ca, Mg, and other elements)

Brine samples will be sent to SGS in Buenos Aires for testing and to Geoanalytics in Tucson to measure porosity and brine release characteristics. SGS will take about 10-14 days to process the samples after they receive them. The next packer test for brines will be at 325 metres where the maximum resistivity contrast occurred.

Figure 2 – Brine sample bottles duplicated.

Figure 3 – Core sample sealed and prepared for analysis at Geoanalytics, Tucson USA.

Figure 4 – Drill core showing halite (salt) sequences at 292m depth.

Phil Thomas CEO said that, “Core coming out has been very encouraging as is the increase in specific gravity. In places the clays are soaked and we are not able to retrieve the core due to the brine levels which is good. The packer brine sampling test results will tell us in the next few weeks if the contrast between fresh water and salt water is lithium enriched brines.”

Qualified Person
Phillip Thomas, BSc. Geol, MBusM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Thomas is not independent of the Company as he is Chief Executive Officer and a shareholder.

About A.I.S. Resources
A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop projects worldwide that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Company’s current activities are focused on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
AIS Resources Ltd.
Phillip Thomas, President & CEO

Corporate Contact
Phillip Thomas
President & CEO
T: 747 200 9412
E: pthomas@aisresources.com

Martyn Element
Chairman
T: 604 687 6820
E: melement@aisresources.com

Website: www.aisresources.com

ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.