NOA Lithium Brines announced the formal launch of its 2026 activities at the Río Grande Project, in Salta Province, with the engagement of specialized consultancy Montgomery & Associates to advance the hydrogeological modeling of the salar, a key step toward the completion of the Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS), which the company expects to finalize before year end.
By Panorama Minero
Montgomery & Associates has been working on the Río Grande Project since 2023 and brings extensive experience in Argentina and across the region, having participated in numerous lithium brine projects at both development and production stages. In this new phase, the firm’s work will focus on establishing the technical foundations required to support the project’s prefeasibility-level evaluation.
One of the first milestones defined under the PFS framework is the preparation of a Basin Water Balance Report, scheduled for completion before the end of the first quarter of 2026. This type of study is a foundational engineering input for brine projects, as it quantifies total water inflows, outflows and storage changes within the project area, providing critical information for project design, long-term sustainability and operational viability.
Commenting on the announcement, NOA Lithium Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Rubacha said the start of these activities marks “another milestone in Río Grande’s path toward prefeasibility,” and reiterated that the company’s strategic objective for 2026 remains the completion of the PFS. The launch of hydrogeological work initiates the technical activities required to achieve that goal.
NOA Lithium is a lithium exploration and development company with all of its assets located in the heart of the Lithium Triangle, in the mining-friendly province of Salta. Over recent years, the company has consolidated one of the largest lithium brine land positions in the region not held by a producing company, with key holdings across the Río Grande, Arizaro and Salinas Grandes salars, totaling more than 140,000 hectares.
Montgomery & Associates is an international water resources consulting firm specializing in mining hydrogeology and aquifer characterization. Founded in 1984, the firm operates offices in the United States, Chile and Argentina, and provides services to leading domestic and international mining companies across the Americas.
