REG - CleanTech Lithium - PFS Plant Location Study Results

Cleantech LithiumAnnouncement

02/07/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 6879U  CleanTech Lithium PLC  02 July 2024

2 July 2024

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

PFS Plant Location Study Results in Decision to Locate

Carbonation Plant in Mining Centre of Copiapó

 

CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM: CTL, Frankfurt:T2N, OTCQX:CTLHF), an exploration
and development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile,
announces the results of a plant location study completed as part of the
ongoing pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the Laguna Verde Project, which is due
to complete later this year. The PFS is being led by Worley, a global
professional services company of energy, chemicals and resources experts, from
its Santiago office which has high-level experience in the lithium sector.
 Xi´an Lanshen New Material Technology Company ("Lanshen") has been selected
to provide the lithium processing plant design and equipment, and Worley to
design the balance of plant and infrastructure.

Highlights:

·    A plant location study was completed by Worley, which evaluated the
optimal plant location configuration for the Laguna Verde project, based on a
capacity of 20,000 tonnes per annum of battery grade lithium carbonate
equivalent (LCE)

·    This provided a trade-off analysis between locating the entire plant
at Laguna Verde versus splitting plant facilities between Laguna Verde and the
nearby mining centre of Copiapó

·    The option of locating the DLE plant and eluate concentration stages
at the Laguna Verde site, and the carbonation plant at Copiapó is highly
favourable, resulting in the decision to proceed with this option

·    A concentrated eluate with 6% lithium, the maximum concentration
before lithium salts begin to precipitate, will be transported to Copiapó for
impurity removal and carbonation stages

·    This configuration results in a minor increase in volumes transported
while taking advantage of Copiapó's well-developed infrastructure and better
access to a skilled workforce

·    According to the Lanshen plant design, approximately 70% of the
operational workforce will be employed at the carbonation plant, locating it
in Copiapó provides major advantages in hiring a local work force including
diversity outcomes such as greater female participation, while contributing to
the local economy

·    The footprint at the project site, which is at 4300m above sea level,
will be greatly reduced, from power supply, storage, camp and plant
facilities, construction phase impacts, and environmental impacts

·    The carbonation plant in Copiapó would eventually be expanded to
also treat concentrated eluate from the Viento Andino project

·    The PFS, now due for completion before the end of Q4 this year, will
include updated capex and opex estimates and will further determine the
optimal production development strategy

Steve Kesler, Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer,
CleanTech Lithium PLC, said:

"We undertook a plant location study as part of our ongoing PFS for the Laguna
Verde project resulting in the decision to locate the DLE and eluate
concentration stages at the project site, and the carbonation plant in
Copiapó. This will have various benefits such as reducing the footprint and
impacts at Laguna Verde, and taking advantage of existing infrastructure,
power supply and skilled workforce in Copiapó. The plant at Copiapó can then
be expanded to treat material from our Viento Andino project and potentially
others. The decision on plant configuration will feed directly into the wider
PFS which is due to be completed later this year."

 

Further Information

The Company engaged Worley, utilising its local Santiago based office, to
undertake the PFS for the Laguna Verde project, and selected Lanshen as
designer and supplier of the entire DLE processing plant. Worley recently
performed various trade-off or options studies to consider the most favourable
configuration of the project and a plant location option study which assessed
three scenarios for location of the plant, of which two of the scenarios,
labelled Scenario 1 and Scenario 3 in the report, provided the relevant
trade-off comparison:

·    Scenario 1: Locating the entire plant based at the Laguna Verde
project site

·    Scenario 3: Locating DLE and eluate concentration stages at the
project site, and the impurity removal and carbonation (downstream plant) at
Copiapó

Laguna Verde is connected to Copiapó via a 270km paved international highway,
as shown in Figure 1. Copiapó is a major regional mining centre in Chile with
a population of 175,000, having well established infrastructure, a skilled
workforce, and existing supply hubs for reagents and other materials. While
basing the entire plant at the project site is feasible and most lithium
projects in the lithium triangle are proceeding on such a basis, the good
transport link and relative proximity to Copiapó made a trade-off study
valuable.

Figure 1: Regional Map

 

An analysis of the difference in transport volumes was undertaken showing a
minimal overall difference between the two scenarios.  For Scenario 3 where
impurity removal and carbonation stages are in Copiapó, there will be no
transport of reagents or bulk chemicals to Laguna Verde which has a positive
environmental and community impact.

A qualitative assessment was then undertaken by the Company across the range
of metrics as shown in Figure 2. There are only two metrics in which Scenario
1 where the entire plant is located at site has a significantly positive
comparison. The first one is storage during the construction phase, in that it
will require a single storage facility rather than storage at both locations
for tools, materials and spare parts. The second is disposal of solids, which
is largely Sodium Chloride (NaCl or table salt) that is dissolved in the
eluate and removed in the impurity removal stage before carbonation. In
Scenario 1, these would be re-dissolved in the spent brine and re-injected. In
Scenario 3, the report assumed NaCl would need to be disposed in Copiapó at a
cost. However there should be a ready market for NaCl and further evaluation
of this is required.

Figure 2: Qualitative Comparison- All on site (1) and split plants (3)

Across a range of other metrics the Scenario 3 of locating the downstream
plant at Copiapó has major advantages. According to Lanshen, approximately
70% of the operational labour force will work at the downstream plant, which
provides a far superior option for skilled workforce based in Copiapó. The
footprint at the project site will be greatly reduced, from power supply,
storage, camp and plant facilities, construction phase impacts, and
environmental impacts. The Board has accepted the study and the decision to
split the plant facilities between the project site and Copiapó will be the
basis for the PFS.

 

 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**

 

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