E3 Lithium expands resource of Bashaw brine, Canada’s largest

E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETL; US-OTC: EEMMF) says its latest resource upgrade makes Alberta’s Bashaw district, Canada’s largest brine project, a contender among the world's biggest battery metal suppliers.  

The sprawling Bashaw district between Calgary and Edmonton now hosts 6.6 million measured tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and 9.4 million indicated tonnes of LCE for a total of 16 million tonnes.  

“This resource upgrade is the largest of its kind in Canada and is significant on a global scale,” Chris Doornbos, president and CEO of E3 Lithium, said in a news release on Tuesday. “The amount of data and geological work required to upgrade resources of this magnitude is significant and further increases our understanding of the Leduc aquifer and as a result, our technical confidence in our commercialization plans.” 

The upgraded Bashaw is one of the world’s largest direct lithium extraction brine projects, featuring investment by the country’s second-largest integrated oil company, Imperial Oil and support from the federal government. The new resource dwarfs Canada’s estimated 3.2 million tonnes of measured and indicated lithium resources in hard rock deposits, according to Natural Resources Canada.  

Calgary-based E3’s upgrade used data and core sample analysis from its 2022 drill program. It also developed a geological model of the Bashaw district showing details of reservoir properties.