PAN AMERICAN LITHIUM CORP 
By TUCSON, Ariz., March 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pan American Lithium Corp. www.panamericanlithium.com (TSX-V:PL) (OTCQB:PALTF) CEO Andrew Brodkey said the company is poised for growth in 2012 due to its strong combination of partnership investment, control of key resource sites, and rapid growth in global demand for lithium.
Brodkey made his remarks in an interview with CEONEWS.Tv, a financial news network. A recording of the interview is available at http://www.ceonews.tv/paltf/.
Pan American controls 11 salars, or dry lake beds, in a lithium-rich, desert region of Chile, the country in Latin America that has the most favorable business, regulatory, and legal climate for mining, Brodkey pointed out. In addition to lithium, Pan American plans to extract potash for fertilizer from brines salts in these salars and from an additional lithium/potash property it controls in Mexico, Brodkey said.
Brodkey noted that projected demand for lithium carbonate, which is the form of lithium used for the batteries that power smartphones, tablets, and conventional and hybrid automotive batteries, was 100,000 metric tons in 2009. Demand reached 150,000 tons in 2011 and is projected to rise to 300,000 tons by 2020 and 500,000 tons by 2025. Figures were provided by Roskill, the leading producer of independent mining industry reports.
Brodkey also pointed out that he learned recently at the top international conference on lithium that some of the largest current producers in the lithium mining industry, which previously discouraged new entrants into the market, are now conceding that growth in demand means there is room for new companies such as Pan American.
In terms of investment partners, Brodkey cited a 19.9% stake, or 10.4 million shares in Pan American, that was taken in late 2011 by the South Korean steel company, POSCO, which is the third-largest steel maker in the world. The share price was approximately 14 cents a share, Brodkey said. Additional capitalizations include $1 million raised and a private placement in the form of a personal investment by Brodkey.
Pan American was formed in late 2009 from an amalgamation of nine Chilean properties containing lithium and potash brines with an initial capitalization of $3 million, Brodkey said.
In addition, Brodkey pointed out that the capital required for lithium and potash extraction from dry lake beds such as those controlled by Pan American is much less than for the traditional hard rock mines involving extraction of ore and crushing. Operating costs for recovering lithium and potash from lake beds involves pumping into surface ponding, drying, and processing which is relatively inexpensive versus hard rock mining.
On Behalf of the Board,
PAN AMERICAN LITHIUM CORP.
/s/ Andrew Brodkey
Andrew A. Brodkey
President and CEO
This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, such as the statements that: (i) the Company's goal is to seize the next wave in mineral exploration and production of lithium and (ii) we believe that our Company is well-positioned to help meet the coming demand for lithium. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information, including: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) a decrease in demand for and price of lithium; and (iii) general uncertainties with respect to mineral exploration in general. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Source: Pan American Lithium Corp.
