Kata Thong Lithium

Kata Thong positions Pan Asia Metals to potentially expand on its lithium Mineral Resources and produce lithium with a low to zero carbon footprint.

Overview

The Kata Thong Geothermal Lithium & Hard Rock Lithium-Tin Project (Kata Thong) is a compilation of 5 (five) Special Prospecting Licence Applications (SPLA) in the Phang Nga Province in southern Thailand covering approximately 45km².

History

The Kata Thong project area and broader region has an extensive history of tin production dating back to the 16th century. The Phuket-Phang Nga-Takua Pa tin field has recorded production of at least 400,000 tonnes of tin in concentrates from 1961-1990 (Nakapadungrat and Maneenai, 1993). Ilmenite, monazite, columbite-tantalite, zircon and wolframite were common by-products. Lepidolite (lithium mica) also became a by-product at some mines. Previous mining is dominated by onshore and offshore alluvial deposits. Tin production from primary sources is generally limited to soft rock and eluvial mining using hydraulic methods. Extensive dredging was conducted in many downstream locations draining primary tin mineralisation.

There is very little record of previous exploration in the project area. This supports the premise that little modern exploration has been undertaken in the region, especially for primary hard-rock deposits. There have been several geological reconnaissance and regional studies undertaken including Garson et al, 1975, Nakapadungrat et al, 1988, Nakapadungrat and Maneenai 1993, Pollard et al 1995 and Schwartz et al 1995. Assessments of the potential for geothermal energy in parts of the project area have been assessed since the late 1970’s. A more recent and useful study is ‘Ngansom and Duerrast, 2019’.

Prospects

The Kata Thong Project is approximately 35km NNE of Pan Asia Metal’s emerging Reung Kiet Lithium Project and 50km SW of the Rajjaprabha Hydro-electric Power Station. Kata Thong complements Pan Asia Metals’s Reung Kiet Lithium Project and will allow Pan Asia Metals to share its resources across the projects. Kata Thong positions Pan Asia Metals to potentially expand on its JORC Mineral Resource at its Reung Kiet Lithium Project and produce more concentrate for refining into lithium chemicals.

Kata Thong is potentially transformative for Pan Asia Metals as already, lepidolite style lithium has the potential to place Pan Asia Metals at or near the bottom of the cost curve, and the nearby 240MW Rajjaprabha Hydro-electric Power Station provides Pan Asia Metals the potential to produce lithium products with a near zero carbon footprint. Kata Thong provides Pan Asia Metals the potential to produce geothermal lithium using geothermal energy with a low to zero carbon footprint.

The geothermal fields in Pan Asia Metals’s Kata Thong application areas have geothermal discharge exit temperatures up to 78°C, meaning there is a strong prospect that geothermal energy can be generated from Pan Asia Metals’s Kata Thong geothermal fields.