Lithium Australia Turning Low-Grades into High-End Products
THE INSIDE STORY: Lithium Australia (ASX: LIT) aims to become the contrary John West of the lithium chemical production industry by processing the materials rejected by others with a low exposure to mining costs.
Lithium Australia believes it is ideally positioned to deliver on the company’s business strategy, which is to apply the best available processing technology to unconventional plant feed to produce lithium chemicals.
This feed may include low-grade, of contaminated spodumene concentrates, lithium micas, lithium feldspathoids, lithium amphiboles, and a host of other lithium minerals, not usually processed in lithium chemical production.
LIT’s most advanced extraction method is the company’s 100 per cent-owned trademarked SiLeach technology that eliminates the expensive roasting step in conventional lithium processing.
The technology can treat lithium bearing minerals currently being disposed of as waste from mining operations around the world, due to a lack of suitable mineral extraction technology.
Recently-conducted engineering design studies and financial modelling showed a proposed large-scale SiLeach-based pilot plant (LSPP) can be cash positive based on the production of lithium carbonate, before by-product credits, and that mica material can be a competitive source of commercial lithium products.
The studies also identified multiple avenues for further substantial capital and operating cost reductions.
“The LSPP study outcomes are encouraging,” Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said.
“They show that a SiLeach large scale pilot plant can be potentally profitable – and this without considering by-product credits or further optimisation.
“This was not the primary aim of the study – we would have been happy with break-even at this scale and stage of the commercialisation program – but we now have additional confidence in pursuing a LSPP as the study outcomes are based on successful pilot-scale test work at one of Australia’s premier mineral research institutions.
“We will use the remainder of 2017 to optimse the outcomes with a view of committing to construction of such a plant.”
The LSPP’s design studies used a base annual lithium carbonate production of 2,500 tonnes (approx. 1/10th scale of a full-scale production plant), concluded:
Recovery of high purity lithium carbonate produced by the ANSTO operated pilot plant that meets offtake specification, can be achieved;
Hydrometallurgical plant operating costs of around US$5,600 – US$6,400 per tonne of lithium carbonate produced, without consideration of any potential by-product credits;
By-product credits have potential to reduce operating costs; and
Potential to make further significant improvements to both capital and operating costs by:
o improved water management; o optimisation of reagent mix and usage;
o improved control on neutralisation to minimise lithium losses;
o optimising the trade-off of residence time versus recovery; and o economies of scale transitioning from pilot plant testing to commercial operations.
LIT’s preferred supply model is to source lithium mica from waste streams from already operating mines, however the company is also pursuing exploration activity to secure alternative supply, if required and is evaluating the processing of spodumene, and suitable spodumene supplies.
LIT recently completed stage 1 drilling, to test the Horseshoe pegmatite, at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Ravensthorpe lithium project in Western Australia.
The drilling program was designed to define the structural and geological setting of the Horseshoe pegmatite and to test for economic lithium mineralisation.
The drilling demonstrated the Horseshoe pegmatite to be a relatively flat, sheet-like body with a true thickness ranging from 15 metres to 25 metres with continuation of the pegmatite to the west of the surface expression open, while lithium minerals spodumene and lepidolite have been identified in drill chips.
“The large footprint, substantial thickness and shallow dip of the Horseshoe Pegmatite, provides an excellent target,” Griffin said.
“The identification of lithium minerals within the Pegmatite clearly demonstrates the very strong similarity to the pegmatite being mined nearby at Mt Cattlin, by Galaxy Resources.
“The Ravensthorpe area is showing a lot of promise and we look forward to improved weather conditions later in the year to enable the resumption of drilling which will focus on Deep Purple.”
The sourcing of the feed material is one of LIT’s high priorities as this remains a critical requirement for committing to the construction of the LSPP.
Optimisation studies will be undertaken, to improve both capital and operating costs, with a view to committing to construction of a LSPP by year end.
Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT)
… the short story
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675 Murray Street,
West Perth WA 6005
Ph: +61 8 6145 0288
Email: info@lithium-au.com
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DIRECTORS
Adrian Griffin, Bryan Dixon, George Bauk