Anson Delivers Successful DLE Test Results on Mississippian Brines at Paradox Lithium Project

Anson Resources Limited (ASX: ASN, ASNOC, ASNOD) (Anson or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has completed a successful Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) test work program on Mississippian brine samples from the Long Canyon Unit 2 and Cane Creek 32-1 wells at its Paradox Lithium Project (the Project) in Utah, USA.

Highlights:

• Successful Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) test work program completed on Mississippian brines from the Long Canyon Unit 2 and Cane Creek 32-1 wells
• Program utilised the DLE process of Anson’s DLE partner, Sunresin, and involved adsorption and desorption tests which produced positive results from both feed brines
• Test work confirmed the ability of Sunresin’s resin to selectively adsorb lithium over other elements – magnesium, potassium and sodium – in the supersaturated brines
• Program also delivered similar results to previous test work on Clastic Zone 31 brines at the Paradox Project
• Based on the positive results, further test work to define the optimal extraction methodology for the Mississippian brines has commenced.

The test work confirmed the ability of Sunresin’s resin to selectively adsorb lithium over other elements – such as magnesium, potassium, and sodium – in the supersaturated brine, and successfully confirmed its suitability and effectiveness on the Mississippian brines at the Project.

The program was carried out by an independent laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah, see Figure 1, and was completed using a small-scale DLE pilot plant successfully used for previous test work by Anson on brine from the Clastic 31 zone within the Project area. Importantly, the latest test work on the Mississippian brine samples has produced similar results to the previous program on the Clastic 31 brines, see ASX Announcement 13 August, 2021.

Based on the successful outcomes of the test work on the Mississippian brines at the Project, Anson has commenced a next phase of test work, to define the optimal extraction methodology for the Mississippian brines.

Figure 1: The benchtop Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) setup in the independent laboratory in Salt Lake City

Test Work Methodology and Commentary

The benchtop test work program examined the ability of the resin used in the DLE process, provided by Sunresin, to selectively adsorb lithium over other elements in the supersaturated brine, including magnesium, potassium and sodium.

This was carried out by assaying numerous samples of the discharged, spent brine for the various elements present in the brine on completion of the adsorption process. All adsorption tests consistently showed the element concentrations remained near the feed brine concentrations throughout each cycle.

Following the adsorption tests, desorption tests were conducted on each lithium “loaded” resin column. Prior to the desorption cycle, the resin columns were allowed to drain of all the remaining feed brine.

Once the columns had drained, purified water (DI water) was used as the elution fluid to flush the resin; elution is the process of extracting a substance that is adsorbed to another by washing it with a solvent. The collected samples were analysed for lithium concentration to establish the desorption characteristics for the loaded resin.

The desorption process using DI water demonstrated the ability to readily release the lithium from the loaded resin for the Mississippian feed brines at both Long Canyon Unit 2 and Cane Creek 32-

1. Results of the desorption tests were aligned with previous desorption tests conducted on Clastic Zone 31 brine samples from the Skyline and Long Canyon wells. The concentration of lithium in the eluate significantly increased, see ASX Announcement 13 August 2021.

Click here for the full ASX Release

This article includes content from Anson Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.