https://alsetenergy.ca/news/2016/alset-receives-assay-and-xrd-results-for-mexican-salars

Thunder Bay, Ontario: Alset Energy Corp. (TSXV: ION) (“Alset” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the laboratory results of 30 samples selected from stored historical sampling efforts completed by LitioMex (2009-2011), the former property owner, on three of the Mexican salars, La Salada, Santa Clara, and Caliguey. The laboratory work included a check or “head” assay followed by quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis and a second assay on the less than 2 micron size fraction of the sample. The purpose of the X-ray diffraction was to determine the clay mineral species and their abundance. The original samples were part of a work program conducted by the previous owners whereby 5m holes were dug in the salars on a 100m x 100m grid with five 1m samples collected from each hole and submitted for multi-element analyses. The historical values returned from Inspectorate laboratory for the 30 samples ranged from 411 to 2590ppm lithium compared to the recent results from Activation Laboratories (“Actlabs”) on behalf of Alset which ranged from 340 to 1680ppm lithium. Both laboratories used an induced coupled plasma (ICP) procedure with a four-acid total digestion. Overall the results from Inspectorate seem a bit higher than those produced by Actlabs and may be a result of the remaining portion of each sample used by Actlabs being much smaller. The most important aspect of the current ongoing laboratory work is the XRD (x-ray diffraction) results listed in the table below. Smectite is a group of clay minerals of which the lithium-bearing mineral hectorite is included. Of the 30 samples submitted, no smectite was detected in 12 and only trace was detected in 2 samples. The samples with the highest concentration of smectite, which may or may not be hectorite, came from the Caliguey salar where Mexico’s former Mineral Resource Council sampling of fluid in the salar returned values of 1.2 to 2.1% lithium (see Alset PR September 1, 2016). The evidence suggests that the vast majority of the lithium is not held in hectorite clay where it is difficult and expensive to extract.