Global Battery Industry Faces Significant Investment to Meet Lithium Demand - Seite 2

Furthermore, the report outlines their innovative approach to extract more lithium from the briny water at the HMN Li Project. Lithium South employs a proven industry method involving the evaporation of pumped lithium brine. They have implemented specific modifications to ensure minimal lithium loss during the collection of the resulting solid materials. Evaporation extraction takes advantage of the amazing free solar resource at the altitude of the project, which is about 15,000 feet. This minimizes the carbon footprint of the project.

"We are very pleased with the substantial upgrade in our LCE Resource at the HMN Li Project and are excited to potentially achieve much higher lithium recoveries," said Adrian F. C. Hobkirk, President and CEO of Lithium South. "We await the completion of our updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which will further evaluate our newly defined, high quality lithium brine resource."

Up to this point, it appears that Lithium South has improved its ability to extract approximately 70% of the lithium from the briny water, a notable increase from the previous 50%. This signifies a more efficient extraction process, bringing increased viability the project.

Taking into account the current market conditions and pricing for lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), Lithium South has projected an Initial Design Capacity (IDC) for the project, aiming for an annual production of 15,000 tonnes of LCE. The company is already making progress with the project's well testing, having successfully installed the third production well, drilled to a depth of 60 meters. A pump test is scheduled to commence immediately upon finalizing the well's development. A second 400 meter production well is now being installed.

In the lead-up to one of the lithium sector's biggest mergers, Allkem Limited (TSX:AKE) (OTC:OROCF) and Livent Corporation (NYSE:LTHM) have already received the required regulatory approval to seal the deal. The prospect of the merger has already caused Allkem's value to skyrocket within the last few months. Together the new entity—to be called Arcadium Lithium— is set to be worth more than $10 billion.

Ahead of the merger, Allkem secured financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to provide up to A$180 million for the development of its Sal de Vida project in Argentina.

"We are proud to partner with IFC to ensure long-term safe and sustainable operations, responsible products, and thriving communities," said Allkem MD and CEO Martin Perez de Solay. "We are committed to the highest sustainability standards for Sal de Vida so that it will contribute to the economy of Catamarca via local employment, the development of local supply chains, and community development programmes."