Western Lithium Reports First Production of High Purity Lithium

Western Lithium USA Corporation (TSX:WLC) reported producing 99.8 percent purity lithium carbonate at its first trial run in the commissioning of its demonstration plant in Germany. The company also announced that it has advanced lithium hydroxide studies to finalize the design of Western Lithium’s hydroxide circuit for production. It expects to commence pilot tests for the circuit in 2015.

As quoted in the press release:

The Company has previously tested its high purity lithium product in battery tests with Argonne National Laboratory, a leading lithium-ion battery laboratory in the United States, that demonstrated satisfactory performance in cycle testing of lithium-ion battery cells (see news release April 16, 2012). Initial results regarding its demonstration plant indicate that lithium extraction and brine concentration are in line with design parameters established in the Company’s NI 43-101 Technical Report filed May 9, 2014. Western Lithium intends to be a new supplier of lithium for the lithium-ion battery market that is experiencing strong growth from electrified vehicles, energy storage applications and consumer electronics. Permitting and engineering work is planned to accelerate in 2015 based on current discussions with several strategic partners that have indicated interest to partner with the Company.

The company also stated:

Western Lithium has processed 75 tons of material, using oxidized ores from its Nevada property, through a calcination plant in Weimar, Germany, at a rate of 12 tons per day.  The lithium calcine produced in the Company’s proprietary process has been further treated at its leaching and crystallization facility in Sondershausen, Germany, at a rate of 5 tons/day. This pilot facility, which has been commissioning since October 2014, has been designed to produce 72 kg/day of high purity lithium carbonate that equates to over 20 tons/year, if operated continuously.  The Company expects to produce several tons of lithium products in 2015 during several campaigns to verify equipment selection and to provide production run samples for potential off-take sales. Lithium extraction recovery was measured at 85-90% with tailings containing 200-300 parts per million lithium.  These values are in line with our commercial design criteria.  The operating plant will continue to be optimized prior to the run of the next production campaign, which will include the production of byproducts potassium sulphate and sodium sulphate.  The Company plans to granulate, calcine, and process approximately 250 tons of additional lithium feed (a mix of lithium clay, anhydrite and dolomite).  The plant is being modified based on the results of the first trial run to now include, for example, an automatic feed system and dust collection units at the granulation/calcination facility and improvements to the leaching circuit to increase performance.

Western Lithium CEO, Jay Chmelauskas, said:

Over the past 18 months, Western Lithium has completed the permitting, construction, and first product sales of our Hectatone™ business (www.hectatone.com) located in Nevada. The lithium market now appears ready for Western Lithium to accelerate the development of its Nevada lithium deposit as a new major supply source. Nevada is emerging as the world’s largest lithium battery manufacturing center and provides potential synergies for Western Lithium to establish its business locally and to become integrated with the global battery supply chain.

Click here to read the Western Lithium USA Corporation (TSX:WLC) press release