Investors like experience, and who can blame them? If you're going to put your hard-earned money into anything, it makes sense to put it into an organization with a track record of success rather than into an organization with no track record at all.

Pan-American Lithium Corp is brand new, but that doesn't mean that investors should mistake it for an inexperienced company. That's because Pan-American Lithium is only new in name and vision, but it is run by a team of experienced leaders who are pursuing some great opportunities. According to their website, "Pan American Lithium Corp. is well positioned to capture the next wave in mineral exploration, Lithium". They have projects in two countries – Chile, where they own rights in 9 properties, and Mexico, where they have one key project.

We had the privilege of speaking with Andrew Brodkey, CEO and President of Pan-American Lithium Corp recently about their exciting projects in lithium mining. Andrew Brodkey has two and a half decades in the mining industry, having worked as a mining engineer, a mining lawyer and senior executive. He's worked in North America and Latin America for large, publicly traded companies like Magma Copper Company and BHP Billiton. "My work for Magma was in North and South America and my work for BHP continued along the same lines. I then transitioned into the business development side." And, Pan-American isn't the first company Mr. Brodkey founded. "When I left BHP in 2002, I joined a firm called CB Richard Ellis—the largest commercial transactor in the world, opened their International Mining & Metals Group. We pinpointed deals in the mining industry."

With such success in mining AND business development, it was no surprise when he was recruited to build more businesses. This formed the right connections that led to the development of Pan-American: "I was recruited in 2007 to become president of two junior companies… and their projects are in Chile and Peru. On the board of directors was Harold Gardner, an American who lives most of the year in Chile. He was the single largest private owner of properties in Chile Region III, an under-explored region of the country and several of his properties had lithium potential. We had a connection in Vancouver with a shell company that was formed with no business plan, but it had cash, and the idea of seeking out good business opportunities. We closed that deal in December 2009." That company was Etna Resources and their name was changed to Pan-American Lithium Corporation in January 2010.

Lithium is a mineral that is sharply growing in demand. It has so many uses, including: mobile phones, desiccants, high-temperature lubricants, welding, aircraft parts, focal lenses, rocket propellant, nuclear applications, air purification, fireworks, and more. And its best-known use is in the growing field of green technology where lithium plays a key role in batteries that power eco-friendly vehicles and equipment.

There are many lithium applications, and its value is increasing as trends toward eco-friendly equipment grow. For this reason, there are many new junior lithium companies out there. Mr. Brodkey explains: "The landscape is proliferated with a number of new, junior lithium explorers. There is competition and there will be a rationalization. Analysts will have to answer: How many of these companies are real? Who is going to build the projects? Who is going to be low cost? Who is going to be first to market? There are many new entrants right now and we're one of these, so we have to introduce ourselves and let people know about the advantages we have that make us distinct."

One of their distinctions is their speed and low cost. There are several different kinds of lithium mining, depending on the form the lithium is in, and these include hard rock, muds, and brines (salars). "Salars are going to be lower cost than hard rock operations and mud operations. All we have to do is pump the brines to the surface, run them through evaporation, and then do the processing. The market is 85,000 tons a year of lithium and it may double or triple but we're going to be the fastest to market and lowest cost of the new juniors because of the projects we have. Our Chilean salars include surface lakes [as opposed to just underground lakes] so our exploration time is minimized. It's a quick and easy way to start developing lithium resources right now in a much shorter time than it would take someone else to come up with the same amount of resources."

Their Mexican project is an interesting opportunity that also minimizes exploration time to enhance speed to market and low cost production. "It's a geothermal [lithium] play at the second largest geothermal power plant in the world. There are a series of wells and equipment which pumps geothermal brines to the surface. When the wells pump the brine to the surface, the steam goes to the power plant to product power and the liquid brine goes unused. However, the brine contains the same sort of resources we find in the Chilean salars so it's something we want to develop. The Mexican government already drilled the wells and is pumping the brine to the surface, saving us time and hundreds of millions of dollars in set-up and operating costs."

Both of these projects are going to be ready as quickly as possible. "In Mexico, we're almost ready to go into pre-feasibility right away and it should be about 1 1/2-to-2 years. In Chile, there's a little more work to do, and we're estimating 2-to-2 1/2 years.

Another distinction Pan-American Lithium has is their highly experienced team. Working with Mr. Brodkey is a full executive team of experienced individuals: Dr. David Hackman, Vice President, Exploration is a geologist and a registered professional engineer with over 35 years of global industry experience. John Hedges, Director Project Development, is a geologist and mining economist and has 38 years experience in the mining industry. Jerry Minni, CFO, has worked for over two decades in the complex fields of business investment and corporate reorganization. He works in the venture capital markets and has held directorship positions at other resource companies. When you bring a team like this together, it doesn't matter how new the company is.

Yet another distinction for this new – but experienced – company is the jurisdiction. Mr. Brodkey explains: "We're in Chile and it's one of the best places for mining in the world. They have a long, established history of mining; they're very pro-mining; it's a jurisdiction we understand and want to be in." It's stable politically and socially, which helps.

"The 'game' in lithium is not how much you have – because there is so much. We're trying to enter the market in a modest way. The range of what we hope to make is about 10,000 tons a year," says Mr. Brodkey. "Our goal is to start small, be modest, and to enter the market in a realistic way."

Mr. Brodkey wraps up our interview with some great advice for investors: "Investors should be asking: 'Who is going to be first in?' Who is going to be lowest cost?' It's not about how many tons you have – because the market is limited. Rather, it's about who is the most nimble."

References

Pan American Lithium Corp

TSX-V: PL

3040 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 110, Tucson, AZ  85719

Telephone: (604) 669 9330

Toll Free: 1-866-669-9377

info@panamericanresources.com