Lake Resources confirms 99.8% grade and purity from testing of Kachi lithium product
Testing at Lake’s Argentinian project has confirmed its ability to produce high-quality, battery-grade lithium carbonate using Lilac’s DLE technology.
Independent testing of lithium carbonate produced at the Kachi project in Argentina has confirmed grades and purity greater than 99.8% for joint venture partners Lake Resources (ASX: LKE) and Lilac Solutions.
Testing was performed by Canadian company Saltworks with independent analysis completed by two third-party laboratories.
It is claimed to have validated major commercial process systems for the project and confirmed its ability to produce high-quality, battery-grade lithium carbonate from the brine resource using Lilac’s direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.
The quality of the lithium carbonate product is believed to have exceeded the project’s design specifications as well as the battery grade specifications of major South American brine lithium producers.
Higher recoveries and purities
Lake chief executive officer David Dickson said the testing showed DLE could produce higher recoveries and purities.
“This is a new process which has now been proven to produce high grade lithium in our ‘mining and refining’ facility,” he said.
“This means a critical part of the value-adding chain is being captured by Lake and it also sets a new standard for what it means to be a responsible member of the lithium supply chain.”
World-class project
Kachi is a world-class lithium development project which is being positioned to lead the industry in the production of high-quality lithium with minimal environmental footprint.
In the lead-up to lithium carbonate testing, Lilac operated the project’s demonstration plant for over 1,000 hours to produce 40,000 litres of lithium chloride eluate before the end of last year.
The lithium chloride eluate was then shipped to Saltworks and a portion converted to lithium carbonate, after which it was independently tested for purity.
The demonstration plant continues to operate, as Lilac nears completion of the performance milestone under the joint venture agreement to process 120,000 litres of eluate into battery-grade lithium carbonate.
Project evaluations
Lake is currently evaluating project timelines and estimated capital costs for Kachi, which it expects to complete and report on in the second quarter of 2023.
The company is also advancing a definitive feasibility study, completing the evaluation of the processing plant and moving into the next phase of the project study.
The study is scheduled for a mid-year release.