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 growth firm advancing sustainable lithium tasks in Chile, pronounces completion of the primary stage of manufacturing from the Firm´s DLE pilot plant operations and outcomes from profitable downstream course of check work to provide battery-grade lithium carbonate by course of companions in North America.

Highlights:

• An preliminary quantity of 88m3 of concentrated eluate, which is the lithium carbonate equal (LCE) of approx. one tonne, has been produced from the Firm´s DLE pilot plant in Copiapó, Chile over an working interval of 384 hours with 14 cycles accomplished
• This completes the primary stage of manufacturing from the DLE pilot plant
• Outcomes present the DLE adsorbent achieved a lithium restoration fee of roughly 95% from the brine, with whole restoration (adsorption plus desorption) attaining roughly 88%
• Impurity rejection charges had been very excessive producing a low impurity eluate conducive to the downstream conversion course of.
• The concentrated eluate is being shipped in 4 batches to the services of Conductive Vitality in Chicago, USA, for conversion into battery grade lithium carbonate

Desk 1: Standing of concentrated eluate from pilot plant first stage manufacturing

• Conductive Vitality accomplished test-work on a 200L pattern of concentrated eluate shipped in Might 2024 to optimise the downstream course of earlier than receiving the bigger quantity shipments
• The conversion test-work produced a number of samples of lithium carbonate with 99.75% lithium carbonate purity demonstrating that the method achieves targets and is repeatable
• The result’s a primary affirmation {that a} course of has been developed that can effectively produce battery-grade lithium for the Laguna Verde challenge from pilot scale DLE eluate
• CleanTech Lithium continues to be a frontrunner in exploration and growth of DLE primarily based tasks in Chile and this pilot scale manufacturing will present massive check samples of lithium carbonate to potential offtake companions searching for product qualification.
• Topic to the completion of the re-injection properly in September, the reserve report for Laguna Verde is scheduled to be accomplished by Montgomery and Associates in October 2024.

Steve Kesler, Government Chairman and Interim CEO, of CleanTech Lithium PLC, mentioned:

“We’re very happy by these outcomes because it reveals we will produce battery-grade lithium with low impurities from our Laguna Verde brine challenge. Working with our companions on the downstream course of, Ahead Water and Conductive Vitality, we will now show your complete DLE course of from brine to remaining lithium product.

“The optimised downstream course of will now be utilized to the preliminary quantity of 88m³ of concentrated eluate, or roughly 1 tonne of LCE, produced from the primary stage of manufacturing from our DLE pilot plant. It will produce vital check pattern volumes of battery-grade lithium carbonate for graduation of testing with potential strategic companions. That is necessary while the Chilean authorities is reviewing the feasibility of lithium tasks to establish probably the most superior firms in Chile and if they’re to achieve their goal of getting three to 4 new lithium tasks in growth by 2026.”

Additional Data

Pilot Plant in Copiapó First Stage Manufacturing Accomplished

The Firm´s DLE pilot plant is in Copiapó, Chile, roughly 275km from Laguna Verde. The plant completed commissioning in late March 2024 and up till mid-June a complete quantity of 1196m³ of brine from the Laguna Verde challenge was processed within the plant with a complete of 14 cycles accomplished. Every cycle represents a quantity of brine being fed first by way of filtration to take away suspended solids, then into DLE columns that are crammed with adsorbent designed to be selective for lithium molecules. Lithium, as lithium chloride, is adsorbed from the brine, earlier than desorption with water to create a purified lithium chloride eluate. A reverse osmosis (RO) unit on the DLE pilot plant then concentrates the eluate by extracting roughly 75% of the water to kind a concentrated eluate.

Averaged throughout the 14 cycles, the restoration fee achieved by adsorption of lithium by the adsorbent was 95% and the restoration fee of desorption from the adsorbent was 93%. The entire restoration fee averaged 88% and was extremely constant as proven in Determine 1. The temperature of the brine and desorption water, utilizing the typical ambient temperature in Copiapó through the March to June interval of operation, was within the vary of 20^oC to 25^oC, which didn’t considerably have an effect on the restoration achieved.

Determine 1: Pilot Plant Complete Restoration Price

The eluate manufacturing fee was comparatively steady after the preliminary ramp up interval attaining a mean of two.8 kg LCE per hour. The design of the plant is 1 tonne per thirty days of LCE primarily based on designed month-to-month working schedule of 360 hours. Resulting from funds and quantity issues, the plant was run for 384 hours for the primary stage of deliberate operation producing a complete of 1.085 tonnes of LCE as eluate. Primarily based on the hourly manufacturing fee this met and exceeded the design capability of the plant.

Determine 2: Pilot Plant Manufacturing Price (Kg LCE/hr in Eluate)

Selectivity of the adsorbent is one other key efficiency parameter for a DLE operation. DLE primarily acts as a purification stage, recovering lithium chloride from the brine while rejecting different impurities. For all the main ions within the brine, other than boron, the rejection fee was very excessive as proven in Fig. 3 under. Extra cycles will additional validate this efficiency. The standard of the eluate was constant over the primary stage of manufacturing with the low stage of impurities facilitating downstream conversion.

Determine 3: DLE Efficiency – Rejection of Main Impurities

After completion of the DLE stage, the eluate is concentrated utilizing a reverse osmosis (RO) unit on the pilot plant. On completion of each phases the lithium grade within the purified lithium chloride eluate is over ten instances greater than the feed brine. The concentrated eluate was then loaded right into a flexitank in an ordinary transport container and transported to the port of Caldera for cargo to North America.

Downstream Processing into Battery Grade LithiumCarbonate: Check-work Accomplished

For the conversion of the concentrated lithium chloride eluate into battery grade lithium carbonate, CleanTech Lithium has engaged a number one lithium processing firm, Conductive Vitality, primarily based in Alberta, Canada, which has services in Chicago, USA, with key downstream processing items proven in Determine 4 under. The standing of the concentrated eluate cargo is proven in Desk 1 with processing to start in August 2024.

Determine 4: Conductive Vitality Carbonation Reactor Tank and Gear for Washing, Filtering & Drying

In Might 2024 CTL air-freighted a 200L pattern of concentrated eluate from the pilot plant to Conductive Vitality to undertake test-work to optimise the conversion course of. The method steps are proven in Determine 5, involving an extra stage of RO, earlier than utilizing Ahead Osmosis (FO) to attain a really excessive stage of focus. Ion alternate (IX) is used to take away calcium, magnesium, and boron. The ultimate steps are carbonation after which washing, filtration and drying to provide a battery grade product. Conductive Vitality´s method is to simplify the method that achieves most yield by minimizing course of steps and, the place losses happen, produce fluids which might be simply recycled to additional maximize yield.

Determine 5: Conductive Vitality Conversion Course of

Reverse Osmosis and Ahead Osmosis

The rise in eluate and lithium focus within the R/O and F/O phases are proven in Desk 2 under. R/O is efficient for focus till Complete Dissolved Solids (TDS) attain the extent of roughly 60,000 – 70,000 TDS, after which it’s more and more vitality intensive and expensive. F/O is extremely efficient in additional focus to the required lithium grade for carbonation, on this case 18,000mg Li/L (or 1.8% Lithium). The F/O unit is offered by Ahead Water Expertise, one other Canadian firm primarily based in Ontario. F/O achieves a excessive focus issue with a lot decrease vitality use than the choice of utilizing a mechanical evaporator, whereas being extremely appropriate for utilising photo voltaic thermal because the vitality supply to energy the F/O course of.

Desk 2: Outcomes from focus of Laguna Verde eluate by way of R/O adopted by F/O

Ion Trade to Take away Impurities

Ion alternate (IX) was used for elimination of calcium and magnesium, which achieved 85% and 87% reductions respectively. Whereas feed concentrations had been low, 100% of barium and manganese had been additionally eliminated in the identical course of. Further optimization is feasible with potential for additional calcium elimination. Lithium loss was low at 3%.

Conductive then utilized its optimised IX for elimination of boron. This was extremely efficient attaining >99.5% elimination of boron. Nonetheless, there was a 22% lack of lithium to the regeneration fluid. This could be recaptured by recycling the regeneration fluid to the F/O feed which was not carried out for this small-scale test-work. The lithium loss from the boron IX is anticipated to be decreased (recovered) to a gradual state loss fee of about 3%.

Carbonation and Battery Grade Lithium Pattern

The carbonation test-work achieved an distinctive yield of 96% of the theoretical most. The ultimate product, after the wash process, was 99.75% lithium carbonate purity as proven in Desk 3. Additional optimisation of the washing stage is deliberate with a purpose to scale back impurities to the best extent potential and due to this fact maximise the worth of the battery grade product.

Desk 3: Course of test-work lithium carbonate pattern purity Fig. 6: Check-work pattern

Further Operations

Laguna Verde Reserve Report Replace

The following stage of useful resource analysis on the Laguna Verde challenge is to provide an up to date JORC compliant useful resource and a reserve report primarily based on changing a portion of assets into reserves. The administration of the useful resource analysis programme and reserve report is led by Montgomery and Associates, a number one hydrogeology marketing consultant with in depth expertise in useful resource analysis of lithium brine tasks in Chile and Argentina. Reserve estimation will feed instantly into the Pre-Feasibility Examine which is focused for later this 12 months.

The reserve calculation requires the completion of pumping assessments and a re-injection properly on the challenge which is scheduled for September 2024, when drilling tools could be re-mobilised after the present winter break in operations. Topic to the completion of the re-injection properly in September, the reserve report is scheduled to be accomplished by Montgomery and Associates in October 2024.

Competent Individuals

The next skilled acts as certified particular person, as outlined within the AIM Observe for Mining, Oil and Fuel Firms (June 2009) and JORC Code (2012):

Marcelo Bravo: Chemical Engineer (Universidad Católica del Norte), has a Grasp’s Diploma in Engineering Sciences main in Mineral Processing, Universidad de Antofagasta. He at present works as a Senior Course of Consulting Engineer on the Advert-Infinitum firm. Mr Bravo has related expertise in researching and growing potassium, lithium carbonate, and photo voltaic evapo-concentration design processes in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. Mr Bravo, who has reviewed and authorized the data contained within the chapters related to his experience contained on this announcement, is registered with No. 412 within the public registry of Competent Individuals in Mining Sources and Reserves per the Legislation of Individuals Competent and its Laws in pressure in Chile. Mr Bravo has adequate expertise related to the metallurgical assessments and the kind of subsequent processing of the extracted brines into consideration and to the exercise being carried out to qualify as a reliable particular person, as outlined within the JORC Code. Mr Bravo consents to the inclusion within the press launch of the issues primarily based on his info within the kind and context during which it seems.

The data communicated inside this announcement is deemed to represent inside info as stipulated underneath the Market Abuse Laws (EU) No 596/2014 which is a part of UK legislation by advantage of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon publication of this announcement, this inside info is now thought of to be within the public area. The one who organized for the discharge of this announcement on behalf of the Firm was Gordon Stein, Director and CFO.

Source

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