Public exploration company American Salars Lithium has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with an arm’s-length vendor to acquire a 100% stake in the Cauchari Minas Ines 01 Lithium Salar project in Salta Province, Argentina.
The project is a fully owned concession spanning 12km². The Cauchari Ines 01 claims cover approximately 1,235ha with lithium concentrations sampled up to 383 parts per million (ppm) lithium.
The project is accessible via existing mining tracks and roads and is situated 13km from the Rincon salar owned by Rio Tinto.
The area’s infrastructure includes immediate proximity to roads, railroads, electricity and gas pipelines, enhancing the project’s mining potential.
American Salars CEO and director R. Nick Horsley said: “The potential of this section of the Salar de Cauchari is immense. Cauchari is a proven producing Salar operated by Exar – Ganfeng & Lithium Argentina that produces battery grade lithium carbonate. The company will look to continue to increase its footprint on the Cauchari and Pocitos Lithium projects.”
The geology of Cauchari is complex, featuring Ordovician sediments, tertiary sedimentary outcrops and tertiary vulcanites.
Data from reconnaissance exploration programmes indicate that the Cauchari Salt Lake underlies a large, structurally controlled sedimentary basin that forms an aquifer of more than 250km².
The basin is part of an endorreic system, with the Tocomar river as its main collector. The aquifer, potentially rich in lithium, has yet to have its effective porosity determined.
In March 2025, American Salars Lithium signed an LOI with an arm’s-length vendor to acquire up to 100% of the Salar De Pocitos project in Salta Province, Argentina, from Recharge Resources.
American Salars has also announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Ekeko concerning a lien placed on the Pocitos 1 project. This lien resulted from a payment deficit by Recharge Resources.
The agreement involves a total of $200,000 (C$276,507) in cash payments for a full release of all liabilities against Recharge Resources, with payments due in May and September 2025.
