Arizona Lithium Updates Development Plan for Prairie DLE Facility, Outlines Modular Approach

Arizona Lithium (ASX:AZL,OTCQB:AZLAF) provided an update on development plans for its Prairie lithium brine project, saying the Saskatchewan-based asset will be brought into production in three phases.

The company said on February 6 that Phase I will involve the start of production at Pad #1. It will use a commercial-scale direct lithium extraction (DLE) unit that can produce 150 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually.

The goal is to process brine at about 1,000 cubic meters a day to ensure the system works under real conditions. Arizona Lithium said it will use the resulting product to de-risk end market opportunities.

"2025 will be a year of facility construction and commissioning Phase I at Pad #1. Our phased development plan clearly articulates how we will continue to de-risk and develop the project," said Managing Director Paul Lloyd

"Modularisation allows rapid and cost-effective scale-up to increase production in Phase II and III.”

Construction work at Pad #1 is due to start in the second quarter, with CAPEX for Phase I set at AU$35 million. According to Arizona Lithium, Phase I will create one of the world's largest DLE facilities.

Upon achieving commissioning and operating targets, the company will proceed to Phase II of Prairie’s development, which will expand Pad #1's output with the addition of commercial-scale DLE units at the site.

During Phase III, the company will replicate its pad design across Pad #2 and Pad #3.

Lloyd also outlined the work that has led the company to this point at Prairie, saying that a prefeasibility study was released in 2023, while in 2024 Arizona Lithium partnered with three landowners to secure pad locations.

Additional pad locations are currently being finalised by the company.

Aside from Prairie, the company holds the Big Sandy sedimentary lithium project in Arizona.

Only 4 percent of the property has been explored to date, but work at the site is currently on hold.

In August 2024, the Hualapai Tribe sued the US Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management over Big Sandy, citing risks to Ha’Kamwe’, a sacred spring, and other cultural sites.

According to a November release from Arizona Lithium, the US District Court for the District of Arizona favoured the tribe, granting the project a preliminary injunction and halting drilling until the case is resolved.

Arizona Lithium said that Big Sandy remains one of its core projects.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.