Origin Minerals expands holdings and enters East Texas Smackover
Origin Minerals continues to grow its lithium brine resources by expanding its claims in Utah and now using its oilfield experience to target multiple brine resources in the East Texas Smackover. Kelly Jones, CEO of Origin Minerals comments, “We have tested three wells in the East Texas Smackover and each one has yielded high-quality brine, with lithium concentrations ranging from 265–335 mg/L. Browning Oil Company has been operating in Texas for over 30 years. This is an exciting opportunity for us to use our oil and gas resources to produce lithium brines in our own backyard.” Origin Mineral’s founding goal of producing lithium from American brine resources remains the company’s focus. Acquiring an ownership position in oilfield brines is a natural extension of its strategy. Origin Minerals currently has five lithium brine projects including over 77,000 mineral acres, making it one of the largest lithium resource owners in America.
Origin Minerals completes first lithium brine test well in Utah
Origin Minerals has competed the first test well in its Tule Valley project. The well was drilled to a depth of 2,900 feet and completed with louvered casing. The Origin Minerals team collected 300+ drill cutting samples which were analyzed by ALS Labs. The results indicate a strong presence of lithium in the valley with concentrations up to 462 ppm. A full set of downhole geophysics was also completed which identified multiple zones suitable for brine water sample collection. Kelly Jones, CEO of Origin Minerals said, “The completion of our first test well is an important step in accomplishing our goal of testing each of our project sites for the best location for our commercial lithium extraction facility.” In November 2023, Origin Minerals will move a pump rig onsite and start its brine water sampling and flow profiling. Between 30 and 50 water samples are expected to be collected for analysis. A water sample will be collected from each prospective brine zone identified from the borehole logging data.
Origin Expands holdings in Nevada and Utah to 66,000 acres
As a result of compelling readings from MT surveys performed by Zonge International, Origin Minerals, LLC has expanded its mineral claims in Nevada and Utah. In Nevada, 645 claims were added in Origin Mineral’s Big Smoky project—which brings the project to 25,500 acres. In Utah, Origin Minerals expanded by adding 410 claims to its Pilot Valley project and 320 placer claims in Tule Valley. The Pilot Valley project is now 18,760 acres and Tule Valley is 15,400 acres. These additional claims bring Origin Mineral’s total holdings across its four basins to 3,359 claims covering approximately 66,000 acres. This expansion makes Origin Minerals a leading holder of lithium brine resources in Nevada and Utah.
Origin engages McGinley
& Associates
Origin Minerals Exploration, LLC engages McGinley & Associates as its engineering services firm. McGinley will initially assist Origin Minerals in assessing its test drill sites, provide technical specifications for test well drilling and sampling, and permit its well locations. McGinley & Associates is a professional engineering firm that provides services in hydrology, geochemistry, environmental compliance, permitting, and project management. “We chose to partner with McGinley & Associates based on their deep experience and we look forward to having them on the team moving forward,” said Kelly Jones, Origin Minerals Founder and CEO.
Origin forms OM Geothermal and acquires geothermal leases
Origin Minerals Exploration, LLC formed OM Geothermal, LLC and has entered into two geothermal leases with the U.S. Department of Interior – Bureau of Land Management. The leased acreage is located in Big Smoky Valley in the vicinity of Origin Mineral’s current mineral claims. One lease covers 4,894 acres and the other 2,039 acres. Both leases were effective October 1, 2022, for an initial term of 10-years and include extension options. By combining direct lithium extraction with renewable geothermal power in one location, Origin Minerals intends to provide renewable energy to the western U.S. and to deliver sustainable battery-grade lithium products to domestic users.
Origin Minerals partners with Browning Oil Company
Origin Minerals is pleased to announce it has entered a joint venture with Browning Oil Company to further expand, explore and develop its lithium resources. Founded in 1974, Browning Oil Company is a family-owned O&G exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Having participated in the drilling, completion and operation of over 1,000 wells in the U.S., Browning brings an expert team in subsurface evaluation, drilling and field operations. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to apply our experiences in the oilfield, said Mike McWilliams, CEO of Browning Oil. “The critical need for battery materials is driving innovation which has opened new lithium resource possibilities. This is similar to what we saw in the oil and gas industry. It’s fun for us to be a part of solving this critical need for U.S. lithium.” With the introduction of Direct Lithium Extraction technology, new sources of lithium rich water can be used to produce battery grade lithium. Combining the business of lithium with the business of oil and gas exploration and production is a natural fit.
Origin engages Zonge to perform MT surveys
Origin Minerals Exploration has engaged Zonge International to acquire Magnetotelluric (MT) data across its mineral holdings in all four basins. MT is an electronic geophysical method for inferring the earth’s subsurface electrical conductivity. The passive geophysical method uses natural time variations of the Earth’s magnetic and electric fields to measure the electrical resistivity of the sub-surface. Surveys range in depth from 300 meters below ground all the way down to 5,000 meters. Zonge will deploy EMAP, which measures natural field data using an array-based system. The survey will be able to capture readings below 3,000 meters (or 10,000 feet). Zonge is scheduled to begin work immediately and to continue until all four basins are complete.
Origin Minerals Engages Lithium Brine Experts
Origin Minerals believes there are a limited number of commercially attractive lithium-rich brine basins in the United States and has engaged experts from Groundwater Insight, Inc. (GWI) to identify potential lithium targets in Nevada and Utah. “This assignment is very exciting for us because we intend to evaluate over 160 water basins across Nevada and Utah for potential lithium brines using key learnings from our prior lithium brine exploration experience,” said Mark King, hydrogeologist and CEO of GWI. King is a lithium brine specialist with 35 years of experience in groundwater research and has been a part of more than 200 groundwater projects in North and South America. Geologist and GWI team member Emily Hanson will also work on lithium target identification for Origin Minerals. She has over a decade of experience in exploration geology and sedimentology and has supported the development of lithium resource estimates in Argentina and Chile. “This U.S. lithium study will form the basis of our future mineral acquisition program,” said Kelly Jones, CEO of Origin Minerals. “Groundwater Insight will begin their work immediately and we look forward to the delivery of their findings over the next six months.”
