REG - CleanTech Lithium - DLE Pilot Plant First Stage Production & Results

Cleantech LithiumAnnouncement

22/07/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240722:nRSV1868Xa&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 1868X  CleanTech Lithium PLC  22 July 2024

22 July 2024

 

CleanTech Lithium PLC ("CleanTech Lithium", "CTL" or the "Company")

DLE Pilot Plant First Stage Production Completed, Downstream Process Optimised

with Sample of Battery-Grade Lithium Produced

 

CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, Frankfurt:T2N, OTCQX:CTLHF), an exploration
and development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile,
announces completion of the first stage of production from the Company´s DLE
pilot plant operations and results from successful downstream process test
work to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate by process partners in North
America.

Highlights:

·    An initial volume of 88m(3) of concentrated eluate, which is the
lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) of approx. one tonne, has been produced
from the Company´s DLE pilot plant in Copiapó, Chile over an operating
period of 384 hours with 14 cycles completed

·    This completes the first stage of production from the DLE pilot plant

·    Results show the DLE adsorbent achieved a lithium recovery rate of
approximately 95% from the brine, with total recovery (adsorption plus
desorption) achieving approximately 88%

·    Impurity rejection rates were very high producing a low impurity
eluate conducive to the downstream conversion process.

·    The concentrated eluate is being shipped in four batches to the
facilities of Conductive Energy in Chicago, USA, for conversion into battery
grade lithium carbonate

 Shipment        Eluate Volume  Eluate Li Grade  LCE (kg)  Shipment Status
 1               24m(3)         2008 mg/L        257       Arrived process facility
 2               24m(3)         2360 mg/L        301       In Shipment
 3               24m(3)         2325 mg/L        297       In shipment
 4               17.5m(3)       2464 mg/L        230       At departure port
 Targeted        90m(3)         2000 mg/L        1022
 Total Achieved  88m(3)         2289 mg/L        1085

Table 1: Status of concentrated eluate from pilot plant first stage production

·    Conductive Energy completed test-work on a 200L sample of
concentrated eluate shipped in May 2024 to optimise the downstream process
before receiving the larger volume shipments

·    The conversion test-work produced multiple samples of lithium
carbonate with 99.75% lithium carbonate purity demonstrating that the process
achieves targets and is repeatable

·    The result is a first confirmation that a process has been developed
that will efficiently produce battery-grade lithium for the Laguna Verde
project from pilot scale DLE eluate

·    CleanTech Lithium continues to be a leader in exploration and
development of DLE based projects in Chile and this pilot scale production
will provide large test samples of lithium carbonate to potential offtake
partners seeking product qualification.

·    Subject to the completion of the re-injection well in September, the
reserve report for Laguna Verde is scheduled to be completed by Montgomery and
Associates in October 2024.

 

Steve Kesler, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO, of CleanTech Lithium PLC,
said:

"We are very pleased by these results as it shows we can produce battery-grade
lithium with low impurities from our Laguna Verde brine project. Working with
our partners on the downstream process, Forward Water and Conductive Energy,
we can now demonstrate the entire DLE process from brine to final lithium
product.

"The optimised downstream process will now be applied to the initial volume of
88m(3) of concentrated eluate, or approximately 1 tonne of LCE, produced from
the first stage of production from our DLE pilot plant. This will produce
significant test sample volumes of battery-grade lithium carbonate for
commencement of testing with potential strategic partners. This is important
whilst the Chilean government is reviewing the feasibility of lithium projects
to identify the most advanced companies in Chile and if they are to reach
their target of having three to four new lithium projects in development by
2026."

 

 

Further Information

Pilot Plant in Copiapó First Stage Production Completed

The Company´s DLE pilot plant is in Copiapó, Chile, approximately 275km from
Laguna Verde.  The plant finished commissioning in late March 2024 and up
until mid-June a total volume of 1196m(3) of brine from the Laguna Verde
project was processed in the plant with a total of 14 cycles completed. Each
cycle represents a volume of brine being fed first through filtration to
remove suspended solids, then into DLE columns which are filled with adsorbent
designed to be selective for lithium molecules. Lithium, as lithium chloride,
is adsorbed from the brine, before desorption with water to create a purified
lithium chloride eluate.  A reverse osmosis (RO) unit at the DLE pilot plant
then concentrates the eluate by extracting approximately 75% of the water to
form a concentrated eluate.

Averaged across the 14 cycles, the recovery rate achieved by adsorption of
lithium by the adsorbent was 95% and the recovery rate of desorption from the
adsorbent was 93%. The total recovery rate averaged 88% and was highly
consistent as shown in Figure 1. The temperature of the brine and desorption
water, using the average ambient temperature in Copiapó during the March to
June period of operation, was in the range of 20(o)C to 25(o)C, which did not
significantly affect the recovery achieved.

Figure 1: Pilot Plant Total Recovery Rate

The eluate production rate was relatively stable after the initial ramp up
period achieving an average of 2.8 kg LCE per hour. The design of the plant is
1 tonne per month of LCE based on designed monthly operating schedule of 360
hours. Due to budget and volume considerations, the plant was run for 384
hours for the first stage of planned operation producing a total of 1.085
tonnes of LCE as eluate. Based on the hourly production rate this met and
exceeded the design capacity of the plant.

 

Figure 2: Pilot Plant Production Rate (Kg LCE/hr in Eluate)

Selectivity of the adsorbent is another key performance parameter for a DLE
operation. DLE primarily acts as a purification stage, recovering lithium
chloride from the brine whilst rejecting other impurities. For all the major
ions in the brine, apart from boron, the rejection rate was very high as shown
in Fig. 3 below. More cycles will further validate this performance. The
quality of the eluate was consistent over the first stage of production with
the low level of impurities facilitating downstream conversion.

Figure 3: DLE Performance - Rejection of Major Impurities

After completion of the DLE stage, the eluate is concentrated using a reverse
osmosis (RO) unit at the pilot plant. On completion of both stages the lithium
grade in the purified lithium chloride eluate is over ten times higher than
the feed brine. The concentrated eluate was then loaded into a flexitank in a
standard shipping container and transported to the port of Caldera for
shipment to North America.

Downstream Processing into Battery Grade Lithium Carbonate: Test-work
Completed

For the conversion of the concentrated lithium chloride eluate into battery
grade lithium carbonate, CleanTech Lithium has engaged a leading lithium
processing company, Conductive Energy, based in Alberta, Canada, which has
facilities in Chicago, USA, with key downstream processing units shown in
Figure 4 below. The status of the concentrated eluate shipment is shown in
Table 1 with processing to commence in August 2024.

Figure 4: Conductive Energy Carbonation Reactor Tank and Equipment for
Washing, Filtering & Drying

In May 2024 CTL air-freighted a 200L sample of concentrated eluate from the
pilot plant to Conductive Energy to undertake test-work to optimise the
conversion process. The process steps are shown in Figure 5, involving a
further stage of RO, before using Forward Osmosis (FO) to achieve a very high
level of concentration. Ion exchange (IX) is used to remove calcium,
magnesium, and boron. The final steps are carbonation and then washing,
filtration and drying to produce a battery grade product. Conductive Energy´s
approach is to simplify the process that achieves maximum yield by minimizing
process steps and, where losses occur, produce fluids that are easily recycled
to further maximize yield.

Figure 5: Conductive Energy Conversion Process

Reverse Osmosis and Forward Osmosis

The increase in eluate and lithium concentration in the R/O and F/O stages are
shown in Table 2 below. R/O is effective for concentration until Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS) reach the level of approximately 60,000 - 70,000 TDS,
after which it is increasingly energy intensive and costly. F/O is highly
effective in further concentration to the required lithium grade for
carbonation, in this case 18,000mg Li/L (or 1.8% Lithium). The F/O unit is
provided by Forward Water Technology, another Canadian company based in
Ontario. F/O achieves a high concentration factor with much lower energy use
than the alternative of using a mechanical evaporator, while being highly
suitable for utilising solar thermal as the energy source to power the F/O
process.

 Parameter                    Unit  Concentrated Eluate  R/O Concentrate     F/O Concentrate
 Lithium (Li)                 mg/L  2,194                5,700               18,000
 Chloride (Cl)                mg/L  11,039               37,000              110,000
 Boron (B)                    mg/L  411                  850                 1,700
 Calcium (Ca)                 mg/L  7                    29                  85
 Magnesium (Mg)               mg/L  14                   50                  150
 Sodium (Na)                  mg/L  134                  400                 1,400
 Sulphate (SO4)               mg/L  103                  120                 330
 Total Dissolve Solids (TDS)  mg/L  19,260               62,000              190,000
 Volume                       L     215.5                66.3                13.9
 Reduction in Volume          %                          69.3%               93.5%
 Laboratory                         ALS Chile            Lambton.Scientific  Lambton.Scientific

Table 2: Results from concentration of Laguna Verde eluate through R/O
followed by F/O

Ion Exchange to Remove Impurities

Ion exchange (IX) was used for removal of calcium and magnesium, which
achieved 85% and 87% reductions respectively. While feed concentrations were
low, 100% of barium and manganese were also removed in the same process.
Additional optimization is possible with potential for further calcium
removal.  Lithium loss was low at 3%.

Conductive then applied its optimised IX for removal of boron.  This was
highly effective achieving >99.5% removal of boron. However, there was a
22% loss of lithium to the regeneration fluid. This would be recaptured by
recycling the regeneration fluid to the F/O feed which was not implemented for
this small-scale test-work. The lithium loss from the boron IX is expected to
be reduced (recovered) to a steady state loss rate of about 3%.

Carbonation and Battery Grade Lithium Sample

The carbonation test-work achieved an exceptional yield of 96% of the
theoretical maximum. The final product, after the wash procedure, was 99.75%
lithium carbonate purity as shown in Table 3.  Further optimisation of the
washing stage is planned in order to reduce impurities to the greatest extent
possible and therefore maximise the value of the battery grade product.

Table 3: Process test-work lithium carbonate sample purity
Fig. 6: Test-work sample

Additional Operations

Laguna Verde Reserve Report Update

The next stage of resource evaluation at the Laguna Verde project is to
produce an updated JORC compliant resource and a reserve report based on
converting a portion of resources into reserves.  The management of the
resource evaluation programme and reserve report is led by Montgomery and
Associates, a leading hydrogeology consultant with extensive experience in
resource evaluation of lithium brine projects in Chile and Argentina.
Reserve estimation will feed directly into the Pre-Feasibility Study which is
targeted for later this year.

The reserve calculation requires the completion of pumping tests and a
re-injection well at the project which is scheduled for September 2024, when
drilling equipment can be re-mobilised after the current winter break in
operations. Subject to the completion of the re-injection well in September,
the reserve report is scheduled to be completed by Montgomery and Associates
in October 2024.

 

Competent Persons

 

The following professional acts as qualified person, as defined in the AIM
Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies (June 2009) and JORC Code (2012):

 

Marcelo Bravo: Chemical Engineer (Universidad Católica del Norte), has a
Master's Degree in Engineering Sciences major in Mineral Processing,
Universidad de Antofagasta. He currently works as a Senior Process Consulting
Engineer at the Ad-Infinitum company. Mr Bravo has relevant experience in
researching and developing potassium, lithium carbonate, and solar
evapo-concentration design processes in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. Mr
Bravo, who has reviewed and approved the information contained in the chapters
relevant to his expertise contained in this announcement, is registered with
No. 412 in the public registry of Competent Persons in Mining Resources and
Reserves per the Law of Persons Competent and its Regulations in force in
Chile. Mr Bravo has sufficient experience relevant to the metallurgical tests
and the type of subsequent processing of the extracted brines under
consideration and to the activity being carried out to qualify as a competent
person, as defined in the JORC Code. Mr Bravo consents to the inclusion in the
press release of the matters based on his information in the form and context
in which it appears.

 

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No
596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal)
Act 2018. Upon publication of this announcement, this inside information is
now considered to be in the public domain. The person who arranged for the
release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Gordon Stein,
Director and CFO.

 

 

 

 For further information contact:
 CleanTech Lithium PLC
 Steve Kesler/Gordon Stein/Nick Baxter          Jersey office: +44 (0) 1534 668 321

                                                Chile office: +562-32239222
                                                Or via Celicourt
 Celicourt Communications                       +44 (0) 20 7770 6424

 Felicity Winkles/Philip Dennis/Ali AlQahtani   cleantech@celicourt.uk (mailto:cleantech@celicourt.uk)
 Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)   +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

 Roland Cornish/Asia Szusciak
 Fox-Davies Capital Limited (Joint Broker)      +44 (0) 20 3884 8450

 Daniel Fox-Davies                              daniel@fox-davies.com (mailto:daniel@fox-davies.com)
 Canaccord Genuity (Joint Broker)               +44 (0) 20 7523 4680

 James Asensio

 

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated
Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's
responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a
responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under
the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed
solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and
will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections
afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to
the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter
referred to in it.

 

Notes

CleanTech Lithium (AIM:CTL, Frankfurt:T2N, OTCQX:CTLHF) is an exploration and
development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile for the
clean energy transition. Committed to net-zero, CleanTech Lithium's mission is
to produce material quantities of sustainable battery grade lithium products
using Direct Lithium Extraction technology powered by renewable energy. The
Company plans to be a leading supplier of 'green' lithium to the EV and
battery manufacturing market.

CleanTech Lithium has two key lithium projects in Chile, Laguna Verde and
Viento Andino, and hold licences in Llamara and Salar de Atacama, located in
the lithium triangle, a leading centre for battery grade lithium production.
The two major projects: Laguna Verde and Viento Andino are situated within
basins controlled by the Company, which affords significant potential
development and operational advantages. All four projects have direct access
to existing infrastructure and renewable power.

CleanTech Lithium is committed to using renewable power for processing and
reducing the environmental impact of its lithium production by utilising
Direct Lithium Extraction with reinjection of spent brine. Direct Lithium
Extraction is a transformative technology which removes lithium from brine,
with higher recoveries than conventional extraction processes. The method
offers short development lead times with no extensive site construction or
evaporation pond development so there is minimal water depletion from the
aquifer. www.ctlithium.com (http://www.ctlithium.com/)

 

**ENDS**

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  DRLDBGDRLGDDGSB