The boards of Anson Resources (ASX: ASN) and South Korean industrial group POSCO Holdings have approved the terms for a binding agreement to develop a direct lithium extraction (DLE) demonstration facility at the Green River lithium project in Utah.
The plant will extract lithium from brines produced from the Bosydaba #1 well owned by Anson at Green River.
POSCO will be responsible for engineering, construction, operation and maintenance of the facility.
The Korean company will pay Anson a facilitation fee of $7.2 million, while Anson will provide access to property, infrastructure, and brine supply.
Operating Framework Established
The board approvals establish a framework under which POSCO will operate its own non-commercial DLE demonstration plant to validate lithium extraction at continuous industrial scale.
A definitive agreement is expected to be signed by mid-year and the plant is scheduled to start operations in 2027, with Anson and POSCO continue exploring new business co-operation opportunities in the meantime, including joint investment in Green River.
Anson chief executive officer Bruce Richardson said the board approval demonstrated strong industry validation of Green River’s low-cost lithium potential.
“Securing a definitive agreement with POSCO represents a transformational step forward for Green River [that] underscores the strong technical confidence POSCO has in our asset and highlights the increasing strategic importance of domestic US lithium supply,” he said.
POSCO has said it will continue to advance the validation of its DLE technology in the US and evaluate commercialisation pathways for future lithium production.
Adding Value to Green River
Anson has been working hard to add value to Green River since its discovery in 2023, most recently implementing a “polishing” program to reduce the minor contaminants remaining in its pure lithium chloride eluate.
The program utilised a direct lithium extraction pilot plant owned by Koch Technology Services and is expected to result in a higher-grade final lithium carbonate product.
In mid-2025, Anson subsidiary Blackstone Minerals shipped a two-tonne bulk sample of Green River lithium-rich brine to POSCO to assess lithium extraction efficiency.
This formed part of its due diligence process for the planned demonstration plant.
