• Core drilling program completed at San Roque property in Argentina
• Up to 600 core samples are being shipped to a certified laboratory for assay, with management optimistic about “favorable results”
• Company also pursues cobalt and lithium, two other minerals risking global shortage due to increased demand

Reputable mining experts have issued stern warnings in recent weeks that the global supply of gold is declining at an alarming rate, with yet no viable substitutes to replace the precious metal. The world has reached “peak gold,” with reserves being mined much faster than they are being replaced by new discoveries and with virtually no new major gold deposits being identified, according to gold and mining experts quoted by Sovereign Man (http://ibn.fm/yludE). Aiming to help meet the growing demand for gold, Marifil Mines Ltd. (TSX.V: MFM) (OTCQB: MFMLF) recently completed a drilling program at a flagship Argentinean property where it searches for gold and zinc.

Based in Vancouver, Canada, the exploration company also pursues cobalt and lithium – two minerals that are also facing a growing global demand and potential shortage as a result of their use in lithium-ion batteries. Demand for lithium-ion batteries is primarily being driven by their use in electric vehicles, a fast-growing industry, as several European countries and China have passed legislation aiming to replace standard gas and diesel-powered vehicles with EVs. It is expected that at least 14 percent of all cars worldwide will be battery-powered by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/2Ogoi).

Engaged in the exploration, evaluation and acquisition of mineral-rich properties in Argentina, and keeping its primary focus on gold, lithium and cobalt, Marifil Mines is uniquely positioned for growth and success in its market segment. The company is optimistic about its prospects, in particular about the results of its recently completed drilling program at San Roque, in southwestern Argentina’s Rio Negro province, where it resumed its search for gold after a six-year hiatus.

The drilling program consisted of four drill holes for a total of 846.5 meters (2,836 feet), bringing overall drilling on the property to 15,683 meters (51,453 feet) across 112 holes, the company said in a press release (http://ibn.fm/XoQQ2). All drilled cores are being geologically and geotechnically logged and analyzed, with up to 600 core samples set to be further assayed by a specialized laboratory in Mendoza, Argentina. The laboratory has so far received 185 samples.

Marifil Mines has implemented a systematic quality assurance control on the drill cores and has hired an independent consulting geochemistry expert to analyze the credibility of assay returns. A report on the drilling program results for all four holes will be made public as soon as all assays are completed and verified.

The company’s drilling program also aims to augment confirmation of the Zone 34 gold find and expand the reported size of the deposit by testing a kilometer-long geophysical anomaly that is believed to have been created by sulfides possibly bearing gold and zinc.

“This drilling campaign was nicely executed and done so within budget by our Argentinean crew. From the look of the drill cores, we are hopeful for some favorable results,” Marifil Mines Vice President Richard Walters, who is also a professional geologist certified by the American Association of Professional Geologists and a qualified person by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 standards, stated in a news release.

In addition to the San Roque property, Marifil Mines is taking steps to revive its lithium exploration program, in the so-called “Lithium Triangle” of the Argentine Puma, which was halted in 2009. The company owns three unexplored mine rights and is planning to purchase a fourth property from a competitor, who has recently announced the discovery of potentially economic lithium brines. Marifil is seeking to leverage its cobalt-bearing property, Las Aguilas, in a joint venture equity exchange for the lithium property. Las Aguilas’ patented mining claims spread over 359 hectares (887 acres) and are 100 percent owned by the company.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.MarifilMines.com

• International efforts to reduce global pollutants continue to fuel expectations for energy-efficient lithium products
• QMC Quantum Minerals upgrading historical assays of its Manitoba properties’ lithium resources
• Global lithium market forecasts predict a 9.33 percent CAGR through 2023

QMC Quantum Minerals Corp. (TSX.V: QMC) (FSE: 3LQ) (OTC: QMCQF) hopes to help awaken a sleeping mineral giant in southern Canada’s lakes region amid the international focus on reducing the pollutants in fossil fuel emissions. In recent months, the natural resource exploration and development company has been increasing its holdings and accelerating the analysis of lithium mineralization in the province’s bountiful Cat Lake-Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field as it searches for commercially marketable products.

Lithium and its modern-tech battery companion cobalt have been enjoying renewed interest as countries from China (http://ibn.fm/mCT2e) to Britain (http://ibn.fm/OFOb6), as well as the United States (http://ibn.fm/P1txd), push to reduce the petroleum-based pollution emitted by internal combustion engines. India’s Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has attracted the interest of some 130 companies with its automotive and space industry-friendly development of an already-tested lithium-ion battery that is expected to add impetus to the zero emissions movement (http://ibn.fm/Br0lh). Not only passenger cars, but commercial vehicles are also beginning to get onboard with the emissions-reducing efforts, as exemplified by Chinese automobile manufacturer BYD’s expansion of its North American fleet from electric-powered buses and trucks to Class 6 step vans with 221 kWh batteries for consumer product deliveries (http://ibn.fm/RT4NS).

Because anticipated demand for the metals exceeds the currently available supply, commodity prices have seen big jumps in recent years, and automobile manufacturers have tried to shore up their production strategies by locking in long-term resource contracts for the highly efficient, high energy density batteries. Market analyst Mordor Intelligence predicts that the global lithium market will grow with a 9.33 percent CAGR until 2023 (http://ibn.fm/mj7S3).

The historical exploration of lithium in Manitoba, including ongoing productivity from the world-class Tanco lithium-cesium-tantalum deposit about 12 miles from QMC’s flagship Irgon Lithium Mine property and regionally accessible Namew Lake District VMS properties to the north, is leading Manitoba to anticipate a possible revitalization of its mining industry and ancillary businesses (http://ibn.fm/abOXZ). The province’s mining and petroleum industries comprise the second-largest primary resource industry of its economy, according to the government (http://ibn.fm/YMFMX).

QMC’s preference for hard rock mining is focused on a 60-year-old production field where 22 adjoining mineral claims encompass 11,325 acres north of Winnipeg. The company has been involved in proving up historical assays of 1.2 million tons of lithium oxide-bearing pegmatite graded at 1.51 percent Li2O so that the reporting will meet modern NI 43-101 regulatory standards.

Recent 3D modeling of the site led the company to determine that exploration and development at the site has only occurred on a portion of the Irgon Dike, leading to expectations that there may be more untapped tonnage available. Because the dike is open along strike and depth, the company expects to increase the historical reported resource.

“Ultimately, we think our NI 43-101 will establish much more than the 1.2 million tons of 1.5 percent lithium oxide along the strike of the dike that the old survey estimated,” the company’s website states.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.QMCMinerals.com

• Increasing electric vehicle adoption driving demand for battery grade cobalt
• Multi-project, vertically integrated pure-play cobalt company
• Added two more drill rigs at Iron Creek Project in Idaho
• Second cobalt mineralization trend identified at Cobalt Camp in Canada

Recent developments indicate that First Cobalt Corp. (TSX.V: FCC) (OTCQX: FTSSF) appears to be having its cake and eating it too. In quick succession, the company announced, first, that it had identified a second cobalt mineralization trend in the Kerr Area of Cobalt Camp, Canada, and, then, that it had intensified exploration activities at its Iron Creek Project in Idaho, USA, by adding two more drill rigs. Together, these two announcements show that the company is cementing its position as a multi-project cobalt exploration company.

Demand for cobalt continues to rise as global adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) spreads; the metal is used in a variety of battery technologies. First Cobalt Corp., with headquarters in Canada, is a vertically integrated North American pure-play cobalt company with three significant North American assets: its Iron Creek Project in Idaho, which has a historic mineral resource estimate (non-compliant with NI 43-101); the Canadian Cobalt Camp, with more than 50 past producing mines; and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials.

Cobalt is used extensively in lithium battery technologies as a cathode material. It comprises about 10 percent of lithium-nickel-cobalt-aluminum-oxide (NCA) batteries, 15 percent of lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide batteries (NMC) and 55 percent of lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO), according to Statista (http://ibn.fm/T22VN), and at least an additional 90,000 metric tons of the metal will be needed by 2025 to meet demand, according to Reuters, citing a report by Swiss bank UBS (http://ibn.fm/Lmnk0).

The bank has based its forecast on expectations that EV penetration will grow to 16 percent globally, up from about one percent currently. As a result, First Cobalt’s identification of a second cobalt mineralization trend within the Kerr area is timely and raises the prospect of cobalt supplies nearer home. The Kerr mineralization is, fortuitously, near surface, extending over a 500-meter strike length. It is located parallel to and 400 meters north of the previously identified Kerr #2 Zone, which has been traced over 350 meters to date (http://ibn.fm/hSXiU).

Even closer to domestic industries is First Cobalt’s Iron Creek Cobalt Project in Idaho, where the company has accelerated exploration activity with two additional drill rigs (http://ibn.fm/afQrU). A total of 81 holes and over 29,000 meters are planned, primarily from new surface drilling stations constructed earlier this year. Drilling will test down dip extensions of known cobalt-copper zones to over 300 meters below surface and test lateral strike over one kilometer to extend mineralization beyond the current 520 meters. The Iron Creek Project is located close to the centers of the U.S. automotive industry in California and Michigan.

First Cobalt’s assets also include a mill and the only permitted cobalt extraction refinery in North America capable of producing battery grade material. The First Cobalt Refinery is a hydrometallurgical cobalt-silver-nickel refinery located approximately five kilometers east of Cobalt, Ontario. The facility was commissioned in 1996 with a nominal throughput of 12 metric tons per day. A second autoclave was later added to the pressure oxidation circuit to double the throughput to 24 metric tons per day, but the second autoclave was never fully commissioned. The current footprint includes an empty feed warehouse that once housed a mill. The facility is located on a 40-acre property that can be expanded to 120 acres with two settling ponds and an autoclave pond.

First Cobalt is considering utilizing the mill and refining facilities on surface material at Cobalt Camp, where studies are now underway on muck pile and waste rock material. The muck pile sampling program was launched in 2017, while waste rock material and mill residue piles near the company’s mill are being studied in a separate program. First Cobalt is assessing whether the mill facility could be relocated and reactivated at the permitted First Cobalt Refinery Complex to generate early cash flow from the production of a saleable concentrate. Further processing of the concentrate into refined battery materials may also be possible.

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/FTSSF

• More than 100 billion mobile apps downloaded worldwide in 2017
• Four out of five small businesses will be “fully adapted” to the cloud by 2020
• UMI platform offers innovative expertise to optimize multi-channel marketing in all market sectors of fintech space
• Total e-commerce sales expected to reach more than $4 trillion in 2020, representing more than 14 percent of total retail spending

Software development and mobile solutions company Consorteum Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CSRH), a specialist in the delivery of complex mobile solutions for a diverse client base, has the capability to deliver a uniquely flexible Universal Mobile Interface™ (“UMI”) for a variety of sectors, including e-commerce, banking, mobile entertainment, social media, compliance gaming and other mobile-based platforms.

Developed by one of Consorteum’s wholly owned subsidiaries – 359 Mobile Inc. – the UMI platform is state-of-the-art, using advanced data analytics, top-of-the-line security and automated management systems designed to integrate any stream of data onto mobile devices, regardless of the operating system. Designed with open APIs, which can be re-engineered to suit the individual needs of any business, Consorteum’s flagship product supports the development of mobile-based applications and delivers a content-rich mobile experience to end users (http://ibn.fm/djfd7).

Consumers have fallen in love with their smart mobile devices, as numerous industry reports point out, and spend more time than ever on their devices. In a report by Statista, the estimated number of mobile phone users around the globe ballooned to five billion people in 2017, with mobile subscriptions poised to outnumber the world’s population by 2020 (http://ibn.fm/sJsis). A substantial number of consumers around the world used their smart devices to make mobile payments to the tune of more than $700 billion in 2017, an article in Entrepreneur states (http://ibn.fm/RPegZ).

Companies that want to successfully make the transition to this brave new world – where consumers want enriching experiences and expect to receive them from their interactions with online businesses – will find UMI’s cutting edge technology the perfect solution. Consorteum’s UMI platform provides a full-service approach for mobile strategies that strengthens connections to consumers and allows for a personalized experience. At the Mobile World Congress 2018, held earlier this year in Barcelona, Spain, much of the discussions reportedly centered on “the customer experience and just how far you can go with mobile devices and technology,” an article in Forbes states (http://ibn.fm/mtTU4).

Consorteum’s UMI platform, which also allows cross operating system development to support all mobile devices while addressing the complex and highly regulated needs of the mobile fintech industry, is strategically positioned to help clients bridge the mobile and online divide (http://ibn.fm/i6tgW).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Consorteum.com

• Blockchain and cryptocurrencies being assimilated into mainstream finance
• Equity analysts must now study blockchain and cryptocurrencies
• CIIX offers course in cryptocurrency trading in New York City

From 2019, aspiring Chartered Financial Analysts (CFAs) will have to tackle topics on cryptocurrencies and blockchain as part of a new curriculum covering ‘Fintech in Investment Management’, for the CFA Institute has updated its syllabus in response to intense interest from the equity research and fund management communities. Referring to blockchain, the technology that underlies bitcoin and other alt-currencies, Stephen Horan, managing director for general education and curriculum at the CFA Institute, commented, “This is not a passing fad. We saw the field advancing more quickly than other fields and we also saw it as more durable”, according to a Bloomberg report (http://ibn.fm/1Xp9W). So did ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX), which in April 2018 announced plans to launch its Bitcoin Trading Academy. Now the company, which hosts a leading financial information portal for Chinese-speaking investors in mainland China and the Diasporas, has officially launched the program, which offers instruction in cryptocurrency trading (http://ibn.fm/cViRS). With the update to its programs, the CFA Institute appears to be following the lead set by CIIX.

That neither cryptocurrencies nor blockchain appear to be passing fads is becoming increasingly evident. Bitcoin futures were first traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in December 2017, and contracts can now be bought and sold at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the world’s largest futures exchange. Earlier this month, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink said that his firm had “assembled a working group to look at blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin,” according to Reuters (http://ibn.fm/EuLWi). Blackrock, with $6.3 trillion in assets under management (AUM), is the world’s largest asset manager.

The three-part course being offered by CIIX will offer investors some explanation of this surging interest in alt-currencies and bitcoin in particular. Part I also provide answers to a host of questions, such as how to open and trade on different cryptocurrency trading platforms, how to set up a cryptocurrency wallet, how to use bitcoin futures to properly hedge a bitcoin portfolio, and how to properly use beginner-friendly trading techniques. Bitcoin futures trading strategies, both long and short, will also be covered. Part II focuses on coins such as ethereum, including coins with significant underlying technology such as EOS, XLM, ADA and NEO, and altcoin trading platforms, such as Binance and Bittrex. Part III will teach students what to look for when vetting new cryptocurrency offerings, including how to read a white paper, how to analyze the professional teams and advisory boards associated with an offering, the role that technology and marketing trends play and what pitfalls to avoid.

The first live course offerings, in both Chinese and English, will be held in New York City. In the coming months, the course will be offered to markets in Asia.

CIIX’s educational course in cryptocurrency trading is just part of its foray into digital currencies. The company operates a bitcoin ATM at its San Gabriel, California, headquarters and has acquired high-powered machines for virtual currency mining at a datacenter near Seattle. The company also sponsors and hosts the Bitcoin Talk Show, which was launched in June, under a one-year contract with Phoenix North America. The show features local Chinese investors and business owners discussing developments and news in cryptocurrency and blockchain.

CIIX offers a range of intriguing consulting services, information products and web-based tools for investor education, including real-time market commentary, analysis and education in Chinese-language character sets.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ChineseInvestors.com

• Energy efficient devices market is expected to reach $908 billion by 2022
• Residential and commercial buildings account for up to 45 percent of total energy consumption
• Regulatory targets for reduction in energy consumption and concerns over climate change are big factors driving overall market growth
• Zero Cost Energy Savings Program offers savings with no upfront customer expenditures

Temperatures are warming up, and the cost of electricity is a concern for every residential and commercial customer seeking a more efficient, cost-effective way to power homes and businesses. Zenergy Brands, Inc. (OTC: ZNGY), the nation’s leading next-generation utility headquartered in Dallas, is primed with an answer to those skyrocketing energy prices through its Zero Cost Energy Savings Program that reduces utility expenses by 20 to 60 percent.

On a global scale, residential and commercial buildings account for up to 45 percent of the total energy consumed through heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, water heating, plug loads and various other energy-consuming functions, according to a report by Navigant Research (http://ibn.fm/RIaHA). As both individuals and countries around the world begin to take action to combat rising energy costs and global warming, some of the first lines of defense are installing energy efficient devices and embracing conservation methods.

Zenergy’s Zero Cost Energy Savings Program (http://ibn.fm/0ejLA) is a financing mechanism designed to allow customers to reduce water, natural gas and electricity expenses through the use of smart controls, building automation, LED lighting solutions, refrigeration optimization, efficient water systems, EC motor controls, demand-size management and load factor correction—all at no out-of-pocket cost to the client. A unique Managed Energy Services Agreement (MESA) allows the partner who is financing the upgraded, retrofit equipment and installation costs to retain a portion of these utility savings until a specified repayment period ends. After that, the client reaps all the financial rewards of the technologies implemented.

Zenergy Brands’ dedication to delivering comprehensive smart energy service to its customers is being augmented with a new business development initiative called the ‘Zenergy Associate Program’. Operated under the umbrella of Zenergy’s new marketing and business development subsidiary, Zenergy & Associates, Inc., this associate program will certify qualified individuals to build a portfolio of income by working individually or as an organized team to originate new customers, projects and, ultimately, sales.

Zenergy CEO Alex Rodriguez said that the new associate program was created to support sales of the company’s full suite of products and services.

“We firmly believe in a direct sales or relationship-based model where well-connected individuals can leverage their relationships to produce sales, and this program allows us to tap into such a similar powerful distribution channel, so I am excited about the opportunity that is the Zenergy Associate Program,” Rodriguez said in announcing the initiative (http://ibn.fm/SbGC2).

The global forecast for the energy efficient devices market calls for growth to more than $908 billion by 2022, according to a report by Research and Markets (http://ibn.fm/8pvnE). The development of smart cities and green technologies, along with rising consumer interest in becoming more tech-savvy when it comes to energy conservation, are projected to be driving factors in the market’s growth.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ZenergyBrands.com

• Continued progress on CBD patent formulas
• Update on the development of three CBD formulas already under the provisory patent
• Additional three products at various stages with Bionatus

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTC: ETST), a biotechnology company focused on cannabidiol (CBD), nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, shared progress on its CBD patent formulas in a recent press release (http://ibn.fm/JHwIe). The company has three new CBD formulas under the provisory patent and three Bionatus products in various stages of development.

ETST is developing three CBD formulas already under the provisory patent whose function is to maintain quality of life and prevent inflammation, cancer and degenerative diseases. The company announced in March (http://ibn.fm/fmIFs) that it had received a grant from the Government of Quebec earmarked for the pre-launch process of these three CBD-based nutraceutical provisional patent products.

Research and development has been very promising on the first two unique CBD formula products, a neuron protector and a breast protector. The final formulation is currently being developed to assure the longest possible shelf life using a yet to be determined natural protective agent. The third CBD formula is a unique superfood formulated from a mix of hemp oil and other vegetal oil(s), enriched with potent antioxidants and designed to improve antioxidant ingestion.

ETST has two products in development, Propovit and a reformulation of Bionatus, through a joint venture with Bionatus Laboratrio Botnico of Brazil and its Canadian division, Bionatus Botanical Laboratories, Inc.  Propovit is used to help alleviate throat irritation, colds and bad breath. The new formulation will be enriched with ETST hemp oil. The main natural ingredient in Bionatus is the Guaco extract. Traditional uses of this extract suppose anti-inflammatory and bronchial-dilation properties, properties that ETST and Bionatus believe will be enriched with the addition of CBD. A third product is also being planned by ETST and Bionatus, with details to be shared soon.

The company intends to share further updates on its CBD IP patent formulas as they progress.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EarthScienceTech.com

• Ben Errez, EVP of GRBX, sees QuickCard generating a record fourth quarter in terms of transaction volume, predicts that it will become the new standard of payments
• QuickCard is a blockchain powered eWallet that can be downloaded and installed on any platform; GRBX has received five provisional patents for its groundbreaking technology
• MTrac App payment platform, powered by GRBX technology, is available for download in the Apple and Android marketplaces; it enables consumers to load funds into an eWallet

GreenBox POS, LLC (OTCQB: GRBX) is off to a quick start since the May launch of QuickCard, its fully integrated mobile payment app that processes cash into blockchain-driven eWallets. GRBX projects that average daily transaction volume will reach $1 million by 4Q2018 and believes that its technology is on its way to becoming the new payments standard (http://ibn.fm/cW6bi).

In a news release, Ben Errez, EVP of GRBX, said, “We are pleased to announce impressive market performance metrics for QuickCard and look forward to achieving a record fourth quarter in terms of transaction volume. The system passed all stress tests to date and is on its way to becoming the new standard of payments.”

A key revenue stream for GRBX is licensing. Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE), through subsidiary MTrac Tech Corp., has launched the payment platform MTrac App. It utilizes an in-store kiosk licensed from GRBX that enables consumers to load funds into an eWallet. The funds can be in the form of cash, credit card or debit card. Future versions of the app will permit users to load funds directly from a bank account (http://ibn.fm/f6acd).

For merchants, this app, with kiosk licensed from GRBX, tracks all sales in real time through a blockchain ledger, meaning that entries cannot be modified once recorded. MTrac also creates a secure cashless ecosystem, a safety feature that’s important for retailers operating in alternative market sectors.

GRBX is based in California with multiple offices in both the U.S. and Canada. It has been awarded five provisional patents for its proprietary blockchain technology. A hardware and software technology company, it offers an end-to-end suite of financial products. The QuickCard kiosk manages all cash issues, such as deposits to blockchain. LOOPZ is a delivery software solution that offers service dispatcher back-end technology with manual and automatic modes. Point-of-sale solutions consist of in-house developed proprietary software with features such as compliance, data fidelity and cloud security.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.GreenBoxPOS.com

• Lithium demand continues to grow, partly fueled by Chinese EV production
• Local community gives consent for drilling at 3,500 hectare Ollagüe Project
• Early assays at Ollagüe yield samples with significant lithium values

Recent news from the Lithium Triangle shows that Lithium Chile Inc. (TSX.V: LITH) (OTC: LTMCF) is advancing its efforts to produce the precious mineral, which continues to experience demand pressure. The Canadian mining company recently announced that it had received authorization from the Ollagüe (O-YA-GWAY) community to begin an exploration drilling program at its project there, which extends for 3,500 hectares on the Salar de Ollagüe. Early assays have been promising, yielding samples with significant lithium values. These findings boost Lithium Chile’s credentials as a future supplier. The company now owns 15 projects, encompassing 152,900 hectares on lithium-rich salars and lagunas in Chile. It is the owner of the largest privately owned portfolio of lithium claims in Chile.

Lithium continues its celebrity status as global electric vehicle (EV) adoption rises. In the world’s largest market, China, this embracement is supported by central and provincial governments, which are offering a range of subsidies to Chinese manufacturers. As a result, China’s electric car market is growing twice as fast as that of the U.S., according to a report in the South China Morning Post (http://ibn.fm/peg7Q). That rapid growth is likely to be maintained for quite a while. Motor vehicle market penetration in China, at present, is a paltry 154 units per 1,000 people; in the U.S., the comparable figure, 910, is almost six times as high. Moreover, at 1.4 billion, the Chinese population is about four times the size of the U.S. population. Together, these two factors suggest that China’s voracious appetite for lithium will continue to maintain a tight market, with lithium prices continuing at their exalted levels. Global lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) contract prices are around $16,000 per metric ton; they have risen about 20 percent over the past year.

Lithium Chile plans to be part of that supply chain. The company now has a lithium property portfolio consisting of 14 salars and one laguna complex in Chile.  The properties include 64 square kilometers on the Salar de Atacama, which hosts the world’s highest concentration of lithium brine production and is currently the source of approximately 30 percent of the world’s lithium production. Lithium Chile’s extensive holdings are the largest held by any private pure play lithium operator. Extending over 152,900 hectares (590 square miles), the claims cover an area much larger than Hong Kong, at 424 square miles.

Lithium Chile Inc. has commenced a four-hole drill program at its Ollague project in Chile, where a recently completed sampling program encountered lithium brines assaying from 160 milligrams per liter to a high of 1,220 mg/L.

The Ollagüe Project, which covers some 3,500 hectares (13.5 square miles) on the Salar de Ollagüe, is close to the town of Ollagüe, which, surprisingly for its remote location, boasts a great deal of infrastructure. For example, since the late nineteenth century, a railway has joined Ollagüe to the Chilean port of Antofagasta, 3,696 miles away.

A comprehensive sampling program has encountered near-surface lithium brines assaying from 160 to 1,140 mg per liter of lithium, with good chemistries. In addition, recent old water well sampling has encountered sub-surface lithium bearing brines assaying 180 to 1,220 mg per liter of lithium.

A property-wide transient electromagnetic survey (TEM) has identified several large, high-priority target areas. The TEM, covering 25 square kilometers of the Ollagüe project, has indicated a number of continuous conductive units over much of the property (http://ibn.fm/l2Bx8). The TEM survey also indicated these conductive units to be open-ended horizontal zones varying from 20 to over 200 meters in thickness and within 20 to 120 meters of surface. Lithium Chile believes that the zones reflect saline aquifers, since, generally, they exhibit resistivity values of less than three ohms. Highly conductive readings have generally been found to indicate a high content of lithium brine in most other salar basins in the area. The presence of lithium lowers the resistivity of water to electricity, so heightened conductivity may indicate the presence of lithium

For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ibn.fm/LTMCF

• Petroteq in final-stage reliability tests prior to launching 1,000 barrels per day production in Utah this month
• Company fully funded for launch operations using proprietary environmentally friendly process
• Company expects to boost extraction to 8,000 barrels per day by 2020 or 2021
• Successful production ramp up would make company the first to commercially produce oil from tar sands

Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSX.V: PQE) (OTC: PQEFF) (FRANKFURT: A2DYWC) is staying busy as it awaits news about its application to uplist from the OTC Market to the Nasdaq Capital Market. The proprietary technology developer for the oil and gas extraction industry is running final-stage reliability tests of its own oil production operation at its Asphalt Ridge facility in Utah, working in excess of 80 percent of its capacity under a revolutionary ecological process as it prepares for full capacity extraction of 1,000 barrels per day by the end of July.

Petroteq Energy is banking on an environmentally friendly process developed by its chief technology officer, Ukrainian chemist Vladimir Podlipskiy, that the company expects to make it the first industry player to successfully extract commercial amounts of crude oil from desert tar sand rock in the Beehive State. Petroteq recently announced that its plans are fully funded and cash flow ready, with $6 million raised since February (http://ibn.fm/Rv2TO).

The company’s technology uses solvents to produce zero greenhouse gas, zero waste and no high temperatures during the extraction process, which crushes the oil-saturated rocks to squeeze out the crude, distills the solvent-oil mixture, recycles the solvent for further extraction use and returns the essentially oil-less sands to the mining pit in a closed-loop process.

Amid the excitement over ramping up the site’s production, Petroteq announced in early July that it has submitted its formal application to list its common stock in the United States on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

“We believe that a NASDAQ listing will help unlock some of the shareholder value we are trying to create for our stakeholders. A NASDAQ listing should provide us with more liquidity and a larger pool of investors that use the NASDAQ Stock Market as a requirement for assembling a portfolio,” CEO David Sealock stated in a news release about the application (http://ibn.fm/1Wegr). “Being in a position to list our common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market reflects significant progress that we have made in building our financial and liquidity standards, strengthening our corporate governance, and positioning the Company for future growth and profitability.”

During the review process, Petroteq’s common stock continues to trade on the OTC market under the ‘PQEFF’ symbol, in Canada on the TSX Venture Exchange under its symbol ‘PQE’; and in certain German markets in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin under the symbol ‘PQCF’ (WKN # A2DYWC).

News of the Nasdaq application followed closely on the heels of the announcement that experienced energy technology investor David Kahn had joined the company’s advisory board (http://ibn.fm/KztGJ). Kahn has served as an executive in some of the largest companies in the energy industry and will be responsible for Petroteq’s due diligence efforts as the company reviews the numerous technologies that it routinely considers adding to its IP portfolio.

Petroteq anticipates that successful production at the Asphalt Ridge site will boost the gravitas of its environmentally safe extraction process, and the company is already increasing its projections for output and potential revenue. Sealock stated that the company initially targeted an additional 1,000 barrels per day each year, but now expects to have capital expenditures in place to add another 5,000 barrels per day by 2020 as part of an aggressive growth curve that will bring it to 8,000 barrels per day by the end of that year or by 2021 (http://ibn.fm/0EMmz). The company holds 2,541 leased acres and 87.49 million barrels of mineable oil sands.

“The project was built during a period of low oil prices and has come online just as oil prices have strengthened,” company founder and Executive Chairman Alex Blyumkin stated (http://ibn.fm/PwyZp).

Company President R. Gerald Bailey told Fox Business News earlier this year that he believes the trend in rising petroleum prices could lead to $80 per barrel figures this year and perhaps reach $100 per barrel in the near future (http://ibn.fm/3IovZ), which would provide Petroteq a significant profit over its $25 to $30 per barrel costs.

“It’ll make money and it’s good for the country,” Bailey told the news agency.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Petroteq.energy