Mr. James Calaway reports

OROCOBRE LIMITED CONSTRUCTION UPDATE ON THE OLAROZ LITHIUM PROJECT

Orocobre Ltd. has made progress on the construction and commissioning at its flagship Olaroz lithium project. In terms of physical progress, the construction program is nearing completion with the commissioning of lithium carbonate plant circuits occurring as they are released from construction. The project is expected to be completed on budget.

Construction activities

Key construction activities in the lithium carbonate plant in recent times have been the installation of air compressors, the fit-out of the boiler room, completion of the compressor room and the fit-out of the electrical control room.

Commissioning and production

Commissioning of the soda ash system, air circuit and industrial water circuit has been completed. The commissioning of the reverse osmosis plant and boilers is nearing completion, and the commissioning of the brine pumps to the carbonate plant and the process tanks is in progress. The plant is expected to be operational in November.

The gas-fired electricity generation plant continues to operate smoothly and provides all the power requirements.

The company continues to follow the community and shared-value policy to work with suppliers and the employment bureau to focus on the hiring of local people from the communities of Olaroz, Huancar, Puesto Sey, Pastos Chicos, Catua, Susques, Jama, El Toro, Coranzuli, San Juan and Abrapampa. The project implementation is through engineering, procurement and construction management with a high proportion of local involvement through construction and supply contracts and local employment. The community and shared-value policy continues to be a key success factor, training local people under the supervision of high-quality experienced professionals.

The Olaroz lithium project is being developed by Orocobre (66.5 per cent), with partners Toyota Tsusho Corp. (25 per cent) and the Jujuy province mining and energy company, JEMSE (8.5 per cent), with a construction budget of $229-million (U.S.), including contingency.