Lake Resources CEO: Key Partnerships to De-risk and Develop Clean, High-purity Lithium

Lake Resources CEO: Key Partnerships to De-Risk and Develop Clean, High Purity Lithiumwww.youtube.com

Lake Resources (ASX:LKE,OTCQB:LLKKF) CEO Stephen Promnitz spoke with the Investing News Network (INN) to elaborate on how his company’s high purity lithium will bolster the battery market due to the product’s consistency and its durability, which can stand the test of time.

Promnitz details in the interview the steps Lake Resources has taken to de-risk and prove that the company’s project is indeed viable.

“The first thing we’ve done is de-risk the methodology now over the last 18, 24 months, and we’ve delivered that late October. We’ve also used a tier one engineering firm Hatch, just show that we can do this in a cost competitive way. The next step is that we’re sending off samples to potential offtake partners, and we’re also putting that product into a battery,” says Promnitz.

Thanks to Lake Resources’ ongoing lithium brine projects in Argentina — a hot spot for large lithium brine resources and low cost production — the company has been able to scale up its operations relatively quickly to compete with the demand that’s coming out of the US, Europe and even East Asia.

The company’s flagship Kachi lithium brine project spans 705 square kilometers and shows the potential to become a low-cost operation with a long life, one expected to produce 25,000 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate on an annual basis using direct extraction technology.

To expedite the process of developing its end product, Lake Resources has key partnerships with Novonix Battery Technology Solutions, Hazen Research and California-based Lilac Solutions, the latter of which is helping the company test and develop more efficient direct extraction technology.

“Having [Lilac Solutions as] a US partner is very important [because] the capital markets support … new technology, particularly clean technology,” Promnitz told INN, adding that there is a large focus on impact investing — also known as environmental, social and governance investing — which he thinks is a trend that will continue beyond 2020. “If we can tick those two boxes, then we should also be able to work with the capital markets, and then deliver that sort of product into Europe or the US or into East Asia.”

Thanks to the direct extraction technology through Lake Resources’ partnership with Lilac Solutions, the company is able to extract lithium more efficiently and can recover between 80 and 90 percent lithium rather than 40 percent or 50 percent.

“From evaporation, [the direct extraction technology] does it with a much smaller environmental footprint,” Promnitz said. “We’re talking a size of one or two city blocks instead of 15 or 20 square kilometers of evaporation ponds, and we return most of that water back to its source — eventually 99 percent.”

Promnitz added that with any new technologies there’s a lot of test work that needs to be done; to that end, he reported that the company has completed roughly 18 months of lab work and 6 to 9 months at pilot scale.

“We’ve essentially de-risked this to show to the industry that here is the advent of a 21st century solution to a 21st century demand.”

Watch the interview above for more of what Promnitz had to say.

This interview is sponsored by Lake Resources (ASX:LKE,OTCQB:LLKKF). This interview provides information that was sourced by the Investing News Network (INN) and approved by Lake Resources in order to help investors learn more about the company. Lake Resources is a client of INN. The company’s campaign fees pay for INN to create and update this interview.

INN does not provide investment advice and the information on this profile should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. INN does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company profiled.

The information contained here is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Readers should conduct their own research for all information publicly available concerning the company. Prior to making any investment decision, it is recommended that readers consult directly with Lake Resources and seek advice from a qualified investment advisor.

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