High, chemical-free recoveries of lithium from brine via a modular direct lithium extraction (DLE) commercial plant have the industry on the brink of a “sea change in global supplies”, according to International Battery Metals.
The company says first lithium produced from the “only modular DLE operation in the world and the first commercial DLE operation in North America” at a site in Utah, USA, showed its proprietary process could deliver lithium-chloride solution with the requisite feedstock purity to yield battery-grade lithium.
International Battery Metals’ (IBAT) DLE absorption technology selectively extracts lithium ions with a “proprietary crystal structure”. It had been independently verified by SLR and Mehos Consulting to extract more than 97% of available lithium from Arkansas Smackover brine.
IBAT was founded by chemist and lithium absorbent inventor Dr John Burba, said to have designed the world’s first DLE plant which has been working in Argentina since 1998.
The company’s plant is co-located at the operations of US Magnesium outside Salt Lake City. It plans to expand production by installing additional columns on the same DLE modular platform with a target of significantly increasing capacity.
“This achievement is momentous for IBAT and a harbinger for an industry-transformation to significantly boost lithium production on a more cost-effective and sustainable basis, clearing a path for supplies of lower-priced, high-quality lithium for EV batteries and large-scale grid backup battery installations,” Burba said this week.
His modular design could bring brine-sourced lithium to market in about 18 months, with capital and operating costs expected to be “among the lowest in the industry”, according to IBAT.
“IBAT’s proprietary absorbent does not require chemicals in the extraction process.
“The technology extracts lithium from brine sources and returns the lithium-depleted brine back to its source.
“Due to the plant’s advanced water recovery rate of up to 98% of water recycled, IBAT’s technology is highly protective of sensitive water resources, based on Smackover brine testing by SLR and Mehos.”
IBAT recently announced the appointment of engineer Iris Jancik as CEO.
Jancik was previously CEO of IDE Americas, a subsidiary of desalination and water treatment solutions company IDE Technologies, where she was responsible for development of infrastructure projects such as the San Diego County Water Authority’s Carlsbad desalination plant in Carlsbad, California.
IBAT’s share price finished the week up about 6% at C$1.40, capitalising the company at circa-$283 million.
