- International Battery Metals achieves breakthrough in sustainable lithium extraction
- Independent technical review confirms first-of-its-kind commercial-scale plant extracts more than 65% lithium from resource, significantly higher than existing commercial DLE technology
- Recycles more than 94% of water, providing sustainable environmental performance far superior to traditional evaporative extraction methods
- Modular, portable design to economically manufacture, deploy and scale to resource scale
Vancouver, British Columbia, September 27 February 2022 /PRNewswire/ – International Battery Metals Limited (the “Company” or “IBAT”) (CSE: IBAT) (OTC: IBATF) today announced that SLR International Corporation (SLR), a global leader in environmental and engineering services, has completed the The first-of-its-kind modular, mobile lithium extraction unit for IBAT, with proven patented technology that extracts over 65% of available lithium from brine, effectively removes impurities and recycles over 94% of water.
“The results of this independent review are a strong validation of our breakthrough technology,” said Dr. John Burba, CEO of IBAT. “IBAT’s technology is faster and more economical because it can be built, deployed and brought online in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of traditional lithium mining models, plus we can extract more from a given resource than any All other available technologies have little impact on the environment.”
The Modular Direct Lithium Extraction (MDLE) plant is located in Lake Charles, Louisianaflow testing of lithium-containing brines from a very early age May 2022and began extracting lithium chloride (LiCl) from mid-May, making IBAT the first company in the world to successfully operate a commercial-scale mobile lithium extraction plant.
The third-party independent review also confirmed the plant’s robust modular design and ease of transport and relocation, which could allow access and utilization of a more diverse lithium-bearing brine resource worldwide, including smaller sites with different terrains – such as in the United States Those – are currently considered uneconomical due to the currently dominant extraction technology.
Furthermore, with its efficient capture of impurities and reinjection of brine into the original resource, coupled with industry-leading water recycling, IBAT’s sustainable environmental performance can create a thriving, clean lithium extraction industry in India North America and around the world.
“From the outset, our goal has been to create a technology that is more environmentally friendly than anything currently in use, while demonstrating consistently superior lithium recovery, scalability and mobility, and we believe we can do so at a lower cost Do it all,” said Dr. Bulba. “We are excited to see a team as experienced, skilled and globally renowned as SLR being able to validate the technology at our first operational and commercial chemical plant.”
The SLR review assesses and confirms:
- Modularity and mobility of factory design;
- The ability to extract lithium, including:
- Extraction of Lithium from Lithium-Containing Brine
- Recovery of high-quality lithium chloride (LiCl) from absorbents;
- Impurity removal efficiency;
- performance consistency over multiple cycles, and
- The water recovery rate determined from the water balance calculation.
As configured, the plant is designed to produce 5,738 tons of LiCl per year, or 5,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent per year, from brine with a lithium concentration of 1,800 parts per million (ppm). The SLR’s operational review included observation of continuous processing of brine containing 300 ppm lithium through the plant and monitoring of solution chemistry through periodic sampling to determine the performance of process equipment and absorption media, through three cycles of loading and elution (extraction with solvent).
The brine is sourced from the United States and delivered to the plant in bulk by tanker truck. In the first stage of extraction from the raw brine, SLR found that “the lithium extraction yields ranged from 72.6% to 87.5% over three cycles, with an average extraction yield of 81%.” In the second stage, lithium was recovered from the absorbing material as Development of commercial grade lithium chloride and lithium carbonate with recoveries “from 58.3% lithium to 89.0% lithium with an average of 68.8% lithium”.
That’s significantly higher than the industry average of 50 percent for evaporative lithium processing, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Agency (NREL) laboratory.
An important part of the IBAT MDLE process is the selectivity of the absorbent, which removes lithium but leaves other naturally occurring elements in the brine, which allows the brine to be reintroduced into the environment, effectively reducing the overall environmental impact.
Specifically, the SLR report states that these tests: “Indicate that the absorption medium is significantly more selective for lithium than calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. During the absorption cycle, the lithium concentration in the spent brine decreases from the fresh feed. Concentrations ranging from about 300 ppm Li to about 10 ppm Li, while the concentration of the impurity metal remains largely unchanged.”
According to the current configuration lake charles, the plant has the potential to produce 5,000 metric tons of commercial-grade lithium chloride (in lithium carbonate equivalents) per year. Due to its modular design, the plant is also scalable, producing up to 20,000 metric tons of lithium chloride per year, depending on the capacity and composition of the brine resource.
“Our holistic approach sets new standards for environmental protection that are earth-friendly and respectful of the regions and communities in which we will operate,” said Dr. Bulba said. “This is an important step forward for the world’s lithium supply and for the security of global lithium supply. North America, we are looking for partners to deploy our technology at scale. ”
IBAT’s technology comes at the right time, as lithium is required to produce nearly all batteries currently used in electric vehicles and consumer electronics. According to McKinsey, demand for the key raw material will rise from about 500,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in 2021 to about 3-4 million tons in 2030.
SLR has reviewed and approved the information contained in this press release derived from SLR’s reports.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulatory Services Provider (as that term is defined in the Canadian Securities Exchange’s policies) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This press release may contain assumptions, estimates and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the company’s control, that could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or an offer to buy any securities, nor does it constitute an offer to sell securities in any state. U.S. where such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful.None of the Company’s securities referred to herein have been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be U.S. There is no registration or waiver of registration requirements applicable. This press release may contain statements within the meaning of safe harbor provisions as defined by securities laws and regulations.
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding the company’s financial condition, results of operations and business, as well as certain of the company’s plans and objectives in connection therewith. There is no assurance that the company’s equipment will be able to commercially produce lithium at the stated capacity. The purpose of the tests is to determine whether it is able to do so and there is no guarantee of successful completion of the tests as they are subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with any new mineral processing method and the properties of the material being processed.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future, and there are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and There are significant differences in the development of the appearance statement.
SOURCE INTERNATIONAL BATTERY METAL LIMITED
