Lake Targets 2020 Pre-production at Kachi With Pilot Plant Construction

• Lake is targeting early 2020 pre-production of initial lithium products at Kachi Lithium Brine Project, Argentina.
• First pilot plant module completed, with delivery expected soon after year-end using Lilac Solutions’ direct extraction ion exchange process.
• Plant designed to produce 50-60,000 mg/L lithium concentrate, more than 10 times the concentration of conventional processes, within a few hours, based on six months of successful lab processing of lithium brines from Kachi.
• Lake plans to produce a high quality, low impurity product capable of attracting premium pricing in current market for lithium.
• Sample product to be available from pilot plant production process in first quarter 2020 for customer qualification purposes for off-takers and potential project partners.

Lithium explorer and developer Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE) announced today plans for pre-production in early 2020 of initial lithium products from its flagship Kachi Lithium Brine Project in Argentina, using a pilot plant under construction with delivery to site expected soon after calendar year-end.

The pilot plant, which has been designed by Silicon Valley-backed Lilac Solutions and international engineering company Hatch, will demonstrate Lilac Solutions’ groundbreaking direct extraction ion exchange process on brines produced at Kachi.

The first module of the plant has already been completed. Results from lab testing have been incorporated into the pre-feasibility study (PFS) at Kachi, which is currently 75% complete, on time and on budget, and scheduled for release by year-end.

Lake expects to produce a high quality, low impurity product that is likely to attract premium pricing in the current market for lithium, amid rising demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and increasing interest in the project from potential off-takers and project partners. Intermediate products will also be prepared.

Lab testing has shown that lithium concentrations of 30-60,000 mg/L lithium can be produced from brines of ~300 mg/L lithium in a few hours after dewatering, more than 10 times the concentration of conventional processes, together with lower impurities.

This direct extraction process will be a major advance for the lithium brine industry, producing high quality low impurity lithium products, flexible and scalable to suit end user needs.

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