Ms. Lisa Chapman reports
EMPIRE TO ACQUIRE KEY PERMIT AT FOX CREEK ALBERTA
LITHIUM PROJECT
Empire Rock Minerals Inc. has agreed to acquire a
key mineral permit centred within Empire's Fox Creek lithium project covering the lithium- and potassium-enriched Beaverhill Lake brine in Alberta, Canada.
The permit, which Empire has named the Well permit, is a 6,912-hectare (17,080-acre)
metallic and industrial mineral permit which allows Empire to potentially recover lithium,
potassium, boron, bromine and other important elements from brines underlying the permit area.
The Well permit's strategic location within the boundaries of, and contiguous to, Empire's Fox
Creek lithium project and previous development make it a very important acquisition. More
than $175,000 in development expenditures have been incurred associated with the exploration,
development and potential future production of lithium carbonate from brines produced from
existing petroleum production wells in the Well permit area. More than 100 existing wells, with
numerous pipelines, petroleum production batteries and the Kabob South petroleum processing
plant are located within the boundaries of the Well permit.
Empire's acquisition of the Well permit will essentially complete Empire's coverage of the
entire Beaverhill Lake brine aquifer system, which is hosted within the Devonian-aged
Beaverhill Lake carbonate reef complex. The saline formation waters of the Beaverhill
Lake brine aquifer system are currently being recovered with the commercial production of
petroleum products, mostly gas and condensate, from producing wells at Fox Creek where
lithium- and potassium-enriched brine is treated to separate and extract petroleum products then
injected back into subsurface formations as a product.
Historical government and industry formation water sampling underlying the newly acquired
Well permit have yielded some of the highest modern recorded concentrations of lithium and
other elements of interest in Alberta and the Fox Creek area. Recently, sampling of waters from
oil and gas wells on the Well permit have yielded samples with greater than 75 parts per million up to 112
parts per million lithium from nine separate wells over an area of more than 200 square kilometres. Samples
documented from within the Well permit's boundary also yielded up to 5,610 parts per million potassium,
223 parts per million boron and 412 parts per million bromine.
Empire can acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the Well permit by paying $20,000 and issuing a total of
100,000 common shares in two tranches over one year to Polaris Capital Ltd., a private Alberta
corporation. Polaris retains a 2-per-cent royalty on the Well permit. The option agreement is subject
to acceptance for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Empire has previously announced its agreement to acquire a 70-per-cent interest in the surrounding Fox
Creek lithium project in the Fox Creek area of Alberta. Closing of this acquisition is anticipated
shortly. With the acquisitions of the Well permit and the Fox Creek lithium project, Empire has
assembled the rights to extract lithium, potassium, boron, bromine and other important elements
from more than 895,000 contiguous acres (362,000 hectares) covering numerous producing oil
and gas fields.
Empire is optimistic about the acquisition of this lithium project in Alberta, a very prolific
province. Infrastructure is excellent, the government supportive, the tax structure beneficial for
all, and there is a wealth of tremendously knowledgeable and experienced work force and
consultants already in place.
Empire believes these lithium-enriched brines produced as a byproduct by existing wells within
oil and gas fields within the Beaverhill Lake brine constitute an important and significant
commercial opportunity for the production of lithium carbonate and other desired elements with
the application of new and innovative technology. Empire intends to fully investigate the
dynamics of commercial production of lithium carbonate and other desirable elements at Fox
Creek, including further metallurgical extraction work, following closing of the acquisitions.
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael
Dufresne, MSc, PGeol, PGeo of Apex Geoscience Ltd., an independent qualified person as
defined by National Instrument 43-101.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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