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First Potash Corp. (fka SALTF) RSS Feed

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Pan American Lithium Corp. Announces Company Name Change and Shift in Corporate Focus

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TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pan American Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:PL) (OTCBB:PALTF) (the "Company"), is pleased to announce that, effective at the open of market on November 26, 2012, it changed its name to First Potash Corp., which will reflect the Company's shift in focus toward primarily developing and commercializing potash from its Chilean brine salars.

The Company's new trading symbol on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada will be "FSP", and on the OTC Bulletin Board in the United States will be SALTF. The Company will remain incorporated in British Columbia, Canada, and the headquarters will remain in Tucson, Arizona. The Company's corporate website will change to www.firstpotashcorp.com.

The Company's management team decided to shift the Company's emphasis to commercialize potash, an essential ingredient in fertilizer, from lithium for several reasons.

The first was in response to recent events in the Chilean mining sector. The Chilean government awarded a lithium concession to Sociedad Quimica y Minera in September of this year but subsequently cancelled this contract in the face of opposition from the Chilean congress and legal challenges from other parties with lithium properties in the country. These events have made the legal path towards the commercialization of lithium less clear than ever. The Company is encouraged that there are parties leading the charge to have more stakeholders included in the lithium commercialization process, including Li3 Energy, Inc. in conjunction with one of its investors, POSCAN, the Canadian subsidiary of the Korean multi-industrial conglomerate, which also owns 18% of the Company.

The second reason the Company is changing its focus is because the management team of the Company believes the long-term fundamentals of potash are very attractive, as potash is a major component of fertilizers. The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nationals published an estimate in 2010 that by the year 2050 there will be close to 9.3 billion people on earth, an increase of more than 2 billion people. For this reason and others, the management team of the Company believes that there will be a very strong, long-term demand for fertilizer materials throughout the world.

The Company maintains its portfolio of ten Brine Salar properties (not hard rock) in the Atacama Region of Chile, that cover a cumulative area in excess of 22,000 hectares and we believe they may have the potential to produce potassium, lithium, and other important minerals from surface lakes and subsurface brines.

"Our company has been working to advance the potash commercialization of our potash properties for some time, and these recent events in Chile just accelerate a process that was already underway," said Andrew Brodkey, CEO of First Potash Corp. "We believe that Chile is still one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world and we believe the government of Chile will come to a long-term solution with respect to lithum rights. In the meantime, we are very excited about the shift in focus to what we think will be a very attractive commodity resource play, and also one that we believe will be important to help ensure food safety around the world."

The management team of the Company believes the Company's Chilean brine salar properties are in the property classification of being lowest-cost producing type that exist to extract potash, and are encouraged by the fact that there is commercial production of potash from other very similar types of projects, including the one in Wendover, Utah by Intrepid Potash, Inc. While traditionally, the majority of potash has been found in hard-rock deposits (like the ones owned by Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc., as demand continues to grow, there are new projects that are moving towards commercialization in places that are outside the traditional areas with which investors are familiar. Examples include the open-pit mining project Eritrea by South Boulder Mines Ltd., and the solution mining project in Ethiopia by Allana Potash Corp. to name just a few of the projects that may have been unlikely in years past

 

Chilean Salars

 

FPC owns several unique type of mining properties, called Brine Salars.

  • Brine Salars are located in Andean Mountain region of South America; cover parts of Chile / Bolivia / Argentina.
  • Brine Salars contain significant concentrations of potassium (fertilizer) and lithium (batteries).

Salar Brines are exciting types of mining properties because the minerals that FPC seeks to commercialize are easier to access than those in hard rock under the ground (cost, mining and processing methodology).

  • Minerals are already dissolved in the brine solutions
  • Part of a crust that is already on the surface
  • The brine solar evaporation process is one of the simplest mineral refining processes ever invented

Tier I Projects

While all of FPC's projects have been chosen for their upside potential, there are 3 Brine Salars in particular that the management team has chosen to focus new development capital on first.

  • Laguna Verde
  • Salar de Pedernales
  • Laguna Brava

 

Description of Project
Project Name Laguna Verde
Size 3,400 Hectares (15 concessions)
Location Chile / Atacama Region III (4 hours from Copiapo)
Brief Description Young volcanic cones and vents surround the entire basin, and in most instances constitute the divides separating the basin from other valleys and nearby salars.
Elevations surrounding Laguna Verde reach 6,800 meters and more.
The lake is fed by active hot springs, and is thought to be of geothermal origin.
Water Rights Yes
Inferred Potassium (tons)/Grade 4,223,134 Tons of potassium chloride equivalent with a grade of 4,881 mg/l
Inferred Lithium (tons)/Grade 512,960 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent with a grade of 213 mg/l
Recent Work June 2010 - filed a NI 43-101 technical report for an inferred resource estimate
Next Steps Scoping & Pre-feasibility Study

 

Description of Project
Project Name Salar de Pedernales
Size 5,100 Hectares (15 concessions)
Location Chile / Atacama Region III (4 hours from Copiapo, near Salar de Maricunga)
Brief Description The Salar de Pedernales is the second-largest salar in Chile.
FPC is the only company focused on Potash production with concessions at this salar.
Water Rights Yes
Inferred Potassium (tons)/Grade TBD
Inferred Lithium (tons)/Grade TBD
Recent Work November of 2010 - began a trenching exploration program; K grades over 8,000 ppm from trenching work and Li grades as high as 1,070 ppm.
Next Steps NI-43101 Resource Study

 

Description of Project
Project Name Laguna Brava
Size 4,400 Hectares (16 concessions)
Location Chile / Atacama Region III
Near Maricunga, in the central Andes near Argentina - accessible via paved International Highway C31 from Copiapo (4 hours); project is accessible via 2 wheel drive vehicles.
Brief Description In a region of young and active volcanoes and obvious geothermal activity.
Lake is fed by active hot springs, which appears to be the principal source of lithium, potassium, and other metallic minerals.
Water Rights Yes
Inferred Potassium (tons)/Grade TBD
Inferred Lithium (tons)/Grade TBD
Recent Work April 2010: Initiated brine sampling program at the shallow Laguna Brava surface lake.
Next Steps NI-43101 Resource Study

 


First Potash Corporation ("FPC") is a publicly traded company that is engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring, and developing properties throughout the Western Hemisphere that contain Potash. The Company trades in the United States and Canada with the following stock symbols: TSXV:FSP and OTCBB:SALTF

FPC believes that the long-term fundamentals are in place for very strong Potash demand (as a component to fertilizer) around the world for decades to come as the world seeks to meet the growing challenge of helping to feed the growing global population.

FPC has a portfolio of ten Brine Salar properties (not hard rock) in the Atacama Region of Chile, that cover a cumulative area in excess of 22,000 hectares and have the potential to produce Potassium, Lithium, and other important minerals from surface lakes and subsurface brines. Brine Salar properties are among the lowest-cost property types to extract Potash from in the world.

FPC already has an NI 43-101 resource estimate for one of its properties (Laguna Verde).

  • Average Potassium (K) grade of 4,881mg/liter; 4,223,134 metric tons of Potassium Chloride equivalent
  • Average Lithium (Li) grade of 212.40 mg/liter; 512,960 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent

www.firstpotashcorp.com

Management Team

The management team of FPC is building a world-class junior-mining company focused on bringing the critical mineral resource of Potash to the world markets and building long-term shareholder value.

FPC's management team has experience in property exploration, as well as legal and financial management within a public company environment.

Andrew Brodkey - CEO, President and Director

  • Former Managing Director of International Mining & Metals Group of CB Richard Ellis, Inc. (NYSE:CBG); responsible for over $100M in asset purchase/divestiture transactions.
  • Served as VP and General Counsel of Magma Copper Company, (NYSE:MCU) acquired by BHP Billiton Ltd. (ASX:BHP) for $3.5 billion in 1996 merger. Became VP of Business Development for one of their divisions, BHP Copper where he was responsible for managing company's portfolio of mining assets, both new mining acquisitions and asset divestitures.
  • Former Attorney specializing in natural resource and environmental law at Denver-based law firm of Gorsuch, Kirgis, Campbell, Walker and Grover.
  • B.S. in Mining Engineering (with distinction) from University of Arizona; J.D. (cum laude) from Creighton University.

Dr. David Hackman - Vice President of Exploration

  • Geologist with 35+ years of experience specializing in leachable metal deposits.
  • Former geologist for Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) and Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE:AA).
  • Served as VP of Exploration for Mercator Minerals Ltd. (TSX:ML), current Market Cap. of $500M.
  • Former VP of Exploration for AZCO Mining, where he helped to discover the Piedras Verdes Property (copper in Mexico) later sold to Phelps Dodge Corp. Deposit is in production via Frontera Copper Corp. (TSX:FCC).

Frank Garcia - Chief Financial Officer

  • Mr. Garcia has over 20 years of experience in senior financial management with international companies.
  • Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Garcia served as VP of Administration for the U.S. division of CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:CX), a Mexico-based global leader in construction materials and aggregates mining.
  • He previously served as Director of Finance for a division of Misys plc, a privately-held British software firm focused on banking and healthcare computing.
  • Mr. Garcia holds a BSBA in Business Administration from the University of Arizona
    CONTACT:          CONTACT: For further information contact:                   Aryn Gruneisen, Corporate Secretary                   (520) 989-0032                   Email: agruneisen@kriyah.com  

 

Ownership / Capitalization Table

 

First Potash Corp. (TSXV:FSP) / (OTCBB:SALTF) Ownership Table

Insider Holders

 

 

Common Shares

 

 

% of Outstanding

 

 

Beneficial Shares

 

 

% of Outstanding

 

 

POSCO Canada (POSCO Subsidiary)

 

 

10,522,090

 

 

18.1%

 

 

10,522,090

 

 

14.3%

 

 

Harold Gardner (Owner of Gareste Limitada)

 

 

1,738,400

 

 

3.0%

 

 

1,963,400

 

 

2.7%

 

 

Eduardo Estefan Marco (Owner of Gareste Limitada)

 

 

1,653,600

 

 

2.8%

 

 

1,653,600

 

 

2.2%

 

 

Andrew Brodkey (CEO & President)

 

 

2,023,000

 

 

3.5%

 

 

3,523,000

 

 

4.8%

 

 

Other Members of Management Team

 

 

500,000

 

 

0.9%

 

 

1,300,000

 

 

1.8%

 

 

Gareste Limitada

 

 

377,500

 

 

0.6%

 

 

377,500

 

 

0.5%

 

 

Total Insiders

 

 

16,814,590

 

 

28.9%

 

 

16,814,590

 

 

22.8%

 

 

Public Float

 

 

41,335,193

 

 

71.1%

 

 

57,016,966

 

 

77.2%

 

 

Total Number

 

 

58,149,783

 

 

100.0%

 

 

73,831,556

 

 

100.0%

 

 

Capitalization Table

 

 

Common Shares Outstanding

 

 

58,149,783

 

 

Options Outstanding (Weighted Avg. Exercise Price of $0.52)

 

 

5,375,000

 

 

Warrants Outstanding (Weighted Avg. Strike Price of $0.25)

 

 

10,306,773

 

 

Fully Diluted Shares

 

 

73,831,556

 

 

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