Sayona Mining Limited - Authier JORC Resource Estimate

Brisbane - Sayona Mining Ltd. (ASX:SYA) ("Sayona" or the "Company") is pleased to announce as part of its due diligence on the proposed Authier acquisition, an independent JORC Mineral Resource estimate, totalling 9.12 million tonnes containing 87,302 tonnes of Li2O.

On the 3 May 2016, the Company announced a proposed acquisition of the Authier lithium project in Quebec, Canada. Authier has a previously reported Measured and Indicated resource estimate totalling 74,000 tonnes of contained Li20, and additional Inferred resources totalling 14,899 tonnes Li20. The foreign estimate was prepared by Glen Eagle Resources Inc. in a NI43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, 2013.

The Company has independently undertaken a detailed audit of all the available data to verify the previous work and convert the foreign estimate to a JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource estimate, tabulated below (refer to link below) at a 0.5% Li20 cut-off grade.

The resource has been estimated and reported in accordance with the guidelines of the Australasian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code 2012). A summary of the estimation methodology and competent person statement is included in the appendix to this announcement.

The Company notes that the Canadian NI43-101 Standards of Disclosure system is broadly comparable to the JORC Code of reporting, and whilst the reporting methodologies are different, the mineral resource estimates are broadly similar.

Corey Nolan, Chief Executive Officer, commented "The Company is pleased with the strong correlation between the two resource estimates which reflects the high quality of the exploration work completed at Authier. In addition, the resource contains a high proportion of Measured and Indicated Resources which will enable the rapid completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study following completion of the Authier acquisition".

Authier Lithium Project Mineral Resource Estimate

The Authier project is owned by TSX-V listed company, Glen Eagle Resources Inc. ("Glen Eagle"). The Company has a binding agreement to acquire the Authier project from Glen Eagle for a total consideration of CAD$4 million.

The Authier project area comprises 19 mineral claims totalling 653 hectares, and extends 3.4 kilometres in an east-west, and 3.1 kilometres in a north-south direction, respectively. The mineral claims are located over Crown Lands.

The Authier project is situated 45 kilometres north-west of the city of Val d'Or, a major mining service centre, situated in the Province of Quebec. Val d'Or is located approximately 466 kilometres north-east of Montreal. The project is easily accessed by a rural road network connecting to a national highway a few kilometres east of the project site.

The deposit is hosted in a spodumene-bearing pegmatite intrusion. The deposit is 825 metres long, striking east-west, with an average thickness of 25 metres, minimum 4 metres and maximum 55 metres, dipping at 40 degrees to the north.

The project has more than 15,000 metres of diamond drilling in 123 holes, and 2,143 assay samples. The project was initially drilled between 1991 and 1999, and then by Glen Eagle between 2010 and 2012. Holes were typically drilled perpendicular to the strike of the mineralised pegmatite to provide high confidence in the grade, strike and vertical extensions of the mineralisation. The NQ size diamond core was halved, 1.5 metre sections were assayed for Li20 content at an ALS laboratory in Vancouver using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Glen Eagle had a rigorous "good industry practise" quality control process, including routine assaying of standards, duplicates and blanks. During the preparation of the Glen Eagle 43-101, SGS recommended that Glen Eagle twin 3 historical drill holes. The program demonstrated strong correlations with historical drill assays.

Authier has been subject to two metallurgical test work programs in 1999 and 2012. Bumigeme Inc, processing consultants, conducted metallurgical testing on a 40 tonne sample and produced Li20 concentrate grades between 5.78% and 5.89% at metallurgical recoveries between 67.52% and 70.19%, with an average head assay of 1.14%Li20. At an average head grade of 1.35%Li20, test work demonstrated a recovery of 75% and a concentrate grade of 5.96% Li20. In 2012, Glen Eagle completed further metallurgical testing and designed a flow sheet based on the concept of producing a 5-6% Li20 concentrate at an 85% recovery rate using conventional processing routes.

Glen Eagle produced a NI43-101 Technical Report - Preliminary Economic Assessment - in 2013, demonstrating the technical and commercial viability of developing the deposit. The study included estimates of the capital and operating costs, and calculation of cut-off grades for the resource estimate. The estimates were conducted to a +/- 35% level of accuracy.

Authier has a previously reported Measured and Indicated resource estimate totalling 74,000 tonnes of contained Li20, and additional Inferred resources totalling 14,899 tonnes Li20 (see Table 2 in link below). The foreign estimate was prepared by Glen Eagle Resources Inc. in a NI43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, 22 January 2013.

JORC Resource Estimate

The Company has independently undertaken a detailed audit of all the available data to verify the previous work and convert the foreign estimate to a JORC 2012 compliant estimate, including:

- Site visit to the project area to inspect the surface geology, confirm locations of the drill hole collars and inspection of the diamond drill core library. The site visit was attended by Gilles Laverdiere, a senior geologist who managed the Glen Eagle drilling programs and resource estimates;

- Review of the geological and drilling database. This included a working session with consultants from SGS Canada who previously prepared the Authier mineral resource; and

- Reinterpretation of the geological model using Micromine software.

The independent resource estimate was undertaken using reported intercepts calculated using weighted averages, no top-cut, and a 0.5% Li20 cut-off grade. The estimation was based on an Inverse Distance Squared interpolation using Micromine software. The parent block dimensions used were 5m x 5m x 5m with sub-blocks of 2.5m x 2.5m x 2.5 in accordance with the drill spacing and pegmatite body geometry.

The resource has been estimated and reported in accordance with the guidelines of the Australasian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code 2012). The JORC compliant resource estimate at 0.5% Li20 cut-off grade can be viewed in Table 3 (see link below).

The Measured Mineral Resource was defined within areas of close spaced diamond drilling of less than 35m by 35m, and where the continuity and predictability of the spodumene bearing pegmatite was high. The Indicated Mineral Resource was assigned to areas where drill hole spacing was less than 50m by 50m. The Inferred Mineral Resource was assigned to areas where drill hole spacing was greater than 50m by 50m generally in the edges of the known mineralisation mostly in the down-dip extensions beyond the last drill holes in each section.

The Company notes that the Canadian NI43-101 Standards of Disclosure system is broadly comparable to the JORC Code of reporting, and whilst the reporting methodologies are different, the mineral resource estimates are broadly similar.

Next Steps

The Company's strategy is to develop Authier in a staged approach, including:

- Converting the inferred mineral resources to measured and indicated through further drilling;

- Converting the mineral resources to reserves;

- Exploring for extensions to the existing mineral resources and other potential mineralisation within the tenement package;

- Consolidating other potential resources in the district;

- Studying options for improving the project economics, including:

-- operating and capital cost reductions (e.g. leasing and purchasing of second hand equipment);

-- metallurgical optimisation using latest technologies available like dense medium separation;

-- downstream processing options including the production of high-value lithium carbonate;

- Completion of an Environmental Impact Statement and Bankable Feasibility Study;

- Negotiating production off-take agreements; and

- Sourcing development finance and constructing the project.

Finalisation of the Authier Purchase

The Company is actively working through a due diligence program covering all the legal and technical aspects of the proposed acquisition which is nearing completion. The Company has also commenced preliminary discussions with prospective financiers in regard to funding the acquisition, and has been encouraged by the response regarding the level and types of funding that could be available. Financing will be completed once all shareholder and regulatory approvals are completed.

To view tables and figures, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/41TG6U9J


About Sayona Mining Ltd:

Sayona Mining Ltd. (ASX:SYA) is an Australian, ASX-listed, company focused on sourcing and developing high purity flake graphite for use in the rapidly growing new technology sectors and industrial sectors.



Contact:

Sayona Mining Ltd.
Corey Nolan, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: +61-7-3369-7058
Email: info@sayonamining.com.au
www.sayonamining.com.au