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Black Mountain: Strategy & Drilling Plans
HIGHLIGHTS:
- NEW STRATEGY: Chariot has revised its strategy for Black Mountain and now envisions a ”Pilot Mine” at Black Mountain in Wyoming, U.S.A., that could rapidly produce spodumene concentrate to capitalize on the growing lithium supply deficit in the U.S. market
- RESOURCE DEFINITION TARGET: Phase 2 drilling aims to define a high-priority, small-scale lithium resource (minimum JORC (2012) Indicated category) to underpin the Pilot Mine and establish the foundation for future larger-scale resource definition
- PHASE 2 DRILL PROGRAM: Chariot will conduct a reverse circulation drilling program at Black Mountain, drilling a total of up to 43 holes and up to 4,300 metres of total drilling (which may be completed in stages through the balance of 2024 and early 2025)
- METALLURGICAL TESTING: Chariot has approximately 200 kg of mineralized HQ diamond drill core in storage in Wyoming which will be transported to Perth for metallurgical testing by an experienced Perth-based metallurgical laboratory facility
- URGENT SUPPLY NEEDS: U.S. lithium demand is projected to surge by 2030, creating an urgency for new domestic supply sources
- WYOMING’S STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE: Wyoming’s small-mine permit system offers a pathway for the establishment of a pilot mine
- COST-EFFICIENT MODULAR PLANT DESIGN: The contemplated modular plant design is expected to reduce upfront costs and offer flexibility to scale up rapidly
- LONG-TERM VISION: The Pilot Mine strategy could provide short-term cash flow and potentially could optimize the development of larger-scale mining operations in the future
The following factors relating to the Black Mountain Project render it particularly suitable for the establishment of a Pilot Mine:
1) Indications of near-surface lithium mineralization at Black Mountain makes it suitable for a shallow, open-pit Pilot Mine.
2) Wyoming’s advantageous small-mine permit system offers a pathway for small mine permits that does not impose limits on the mineral volume which can be extracted but rather places annual limits on the mining activities to 10 acres (4.05 hectares) of disturbance and 35,000 cubic yards (26,760 cubic metres) of overburden removal (refer Part 3 of this announcement).
3) Black Mountain’s proximity to U.S. lithium hydroxide refineries currently under construction in the southwestern United States is expected to provide a geographic advantage in marketing product extracted from the Pilot Mine.
1. Target Small-scale Lithium Resource Definition
The Black Mountain Phase 2 drilling program (“Phase 2 Drilling Program”) will be completed during the coming months within the 5 acre disturbance limit applicable under the existing “Notice of Intent” level drill permit. The Phase 2 Drilling Program will seek to:
1) Quickly and cost-effectively define a small-scale lithium resource (at a minimum JORC (2012) “Indicated” category level of confidence) to support the construction of a Pilot Mine (“Small-scale Lithium Resource”).
2) Advance the understanding of mineralization and geology to identify drilling targets for further exploration of the project and delineation of a resource to support future large-scale mining.
The Phase 2 Drilling Program will be focused on the two southern pegmatite outcrops (Figure 1) which exhibit high fractionation (see Chariot’s ASX announcements dated 2 February 2024 and 20 August 2024) and contain spodumene at surface.
A previous drilling program conducted by the Company has already shown at and near-surface lithium mineralisation in these areas (see Chariot’s ASX announcement dated 2 February 2024).
ERM (see Part 4 of this announcement below) has assisted in the development of the Phase 2 Drilling Program. It will consist of up to 43 holes, totaling up to 4,300m of total drilling depth. The drilling method utilized will be small-format reverse circulation (”RC”) drilling, which is a proven method for quick and cost-effective drilling with a minimal disturbance footprint.
As part of its revised strategy for Black Mountain, the Company is replacing the previously announced drilling plans (see Chariot’s ASX announcements dated 19 June 2024) with the Phase 2 Drilling Program.
The Company is in discussions with a drilling company and will commence drilling as soon as an RC drill rig and crew can be redeployed from their current projects.
Figure 1: 2024 RC Drill Plan
Figure 2: Black Mountain pegmatite intersection in BMDDH23_01 from 10.5m (34.5ft.) to 13.7m (45ft.) showing some of the spodumene mineralization (See Chariot’s ASX Announcement dated 2 February 2024)
Figure 3: Black Mountain Drill Core sample from BMDDH23_01 – from 10.6m (See Chariot’s ASX Announcement dated 2 February 2024)
The Company notes that completion of the full Phase 2 Drilling Program will require additional funding. Discussions regarding potential fundraising are currently underway and the Company will provide further updates as details are finalised.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Chariot Corporation, 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.
Lithium Universe
Overview
Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7) is dedicated to closing the ‘Lithium Conversion Gap’ in North America by developing a mine-to-battery-grade lithium carbonate strategy in Québec, Canada. Our mission is to support the supply chain needs of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), particularly in the automotive sector, by converting spodumene supply into lithium chemicals for EV battery plants North America.
Our business model focuses on converting spodumene supplies under "take or pay" agreements with OEMs. These agreements include protective pricing mechanisms, such as floor and ceiling prices, to ensure stable margins and mitigate market volatility. This approach guarantees our LU7 refinery's payback while providing OEMs with a reliable and sustainable supply of lithium chemicals.
Company Highlights
- Focussed on closing the Lithium Conversion Gap in North America by establishing a 16,000 tpa lithium carbonate plant at Bécancour, Québec
- Definitive feasibility study has commenced and initial metallurgical testing is yielding results greater than battery grade specification.
- Led by lithium development veteran Iggy Tan, who seeks to replicate his successes at Galaxy Resources with Lithium Universe.
- The company is composed of lithium industry leaders, named the ‘Lithium Dream Team’, representing multiple decades of combined experience in mining exploration, development, production and operations.
The ’Lithium Conversion Gap’
North America anticipates a surge in battery manufacturing, with over 20 major manufacturers planning to deploy an estimated 1,000 GW of battery capacity. These are companies such as General Motors, LG Energy Solution, Ford, Power Co, Northvolt, Tesla, AESC, Toyota and Honda. Assuming the planned battery manufacturing capacity of 1,000 GW by 2028, using a ratio of 850 g lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per KWh, the company estimates that 850,000 tons of LCE per annum will be required to satisfy demand in North America.
On the supply side, Canada has surpassed China to claim the top spot in BloombergNEF’s Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Ranking, a comprehensive annual evaluation of 30 countries’ potential to develop secure, reliable, and sustainable lithium-ion battery supply chains. Québec has been established as one of the most prospective regions with over 40 companies dedicated to lithium exploration and development. The cumulative lithium resource in just Québec exceeds 500Mt at +1 percent lithium oxide across eight distinct projects, which has increased over 100 percent within the last 12 months. Many companies have plans to develop mines and concentrating facilities to produce spodumene concentrate.
Figure 1: Projected US EV Battery Demand and Announced Battery Production Capacity (2022-2032)
[Source: US Department of Energy, January 2023]
Spodumene concentrate needs to be converted to battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide to be used in the production of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Currently, there are no operational converters in North America and the company estimates approximately only 100,000 tons of planned hard rock converters are slated for construction in the region. The region seeks to decrease dependence on Chinese lithium converters, aligning with both commercial and national security goals. Canada, acknowledging the significance of energy security, has intensified efforts to reduce Chinese involvement in the sector as part of a “decoupling” or “de-risking” strategy, mirroring the actions taken by the United States.
The ’Lithium Dream Team’
The company’s strategy involves assembling a seasoned team of lithium experts renowned for rapidly delivering successful projects, dubbed the 'Lithium Dream Team', boasting extensive expertise in both hard rock lithium extraction and downstream operations, all within a single company.
Lithium Universe is headed by the chairman, Iggy Tan, who is considered a pioneer in the modern lithium industry. Over 20 years ago, Tan was one of the first Australian mining executives to recognize the potential of the emerging lithium-ion battery industry. He led Galaxy Resources and built the Mt Cattlin spodumene project (137,000 tpa of spodumene product) and the downstream Jiangsu lithium carbonate project (with a capacity of 17,000 tpa). This was the first large-scale vertically integrated, mine-to-battery-grade lithium carbonate project in the world.
Joining Iggy on the board are Pat Scallan and Dr. Jingyuan Liu. Scallan is a seasoned veteran of the lithium industry with over 25 years of managing the world-class Greenbushes Mine. He oversaw the mine's many expansions, increasing annual output from 200,000 in 1997 to over 1.4 million tpa today. Liu is widely regarded as a leading technical expert in the lithium industry. He was previously the general manager of development and technologies at Galaxy Resources, where he was responsible for overseeing the construction and commissioning of the Mt Cattlin spodumene project and the world-renowned Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant. Liu has acted as a special adviser to various lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide projects globally.
Additional Dream Team members include: Terry Stark, who previously served as the general manager of operations for both Mt Cattlin and James Bay projects; Roger Pover, with extensive experience as plant manager at Greenbushes and Mt Cattlin; and Huy Nguyen, known for his expertise in the design and construction of the Mt Cattlin mine. John Loxton, who was involved in the construction of the Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant for Hatch Engineering, has also joined the company. John Sobolewski, former CFO and company secretary of Galaxy Resources pivotal in financing both projects, assumes the role of chief financial officer role at Lithium Universe, marking a significant addition to the LU7 team's financial expertise in the lithium domain.
Lithium Carbonate Refinery
The Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant was designed to produce 17,000 tpa of battery-grade lithium carbonate. It adopted advanced Western style continuous process control techniques, setting a standard for lithium refineries globally. The plant now exceeds its design capacity, producing 20,000 tpa, and its battery-grade product ranks among the industry's finest. Constructed and achieving steady-state quality was accomplished within two years of ground-breaking. Lithium Universe plans to replicate the successful design of the Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant entirely, employing the same suppliers, equipment and engineering firm – mitigating the second major risk. Lithium Universe has contracted Hatch Limited to conduct the definitive feasibility study (DFS), the same engineering company responsible for the original design and construction of the Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant.
Lithium Universe is advancing a mine-to-battery-grade lithium carbonate strategy in Canada through the Québec Lithium Processing Hub (QLPH). The QLPH includes a multi-purpose independent 1 Mtpa concentrator and an independent 16,000 tpa battery-grade lithium carbonate refinery. The QLPH concentrator and lithium carbonate plant aim to replicate the proven success of the Mt Cattlin spodumene operation and Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant to minimize startup and operational risks.
Figure 2: The Company’s proposed lithium carbonate refinery at layout at Bécancour, Québec.
The company has successfully executed an option agreement to acquire a commercial property located within the Bécancour Waterfront Industrial Park (BWIP) between Québec City and Montréal. The industrial land secured is only 2.5 kms to the Bécancour deep-water port, allowing the import of spodumene to the facility. The company is taking a significant step towards the production of greener battery-grade lithium carbonate at the proposed Becancour lithium refinery.
Results of its preliminary feasibility study (PFS) for the Bécancour Lithium Carbonate Refinery. The PFS confirms the viability of a strong lithium conversion project, even within a below-average pricing environment. LU7 continues to progress full definitive feasibility study while offtake discussions with interested OEMs underway.
Financial Modelling:
- Economically viable with excellent pre-tax NPV8 percent of approximately US$779 million
- IRR (pre-tax) of approximately 23.5 percent and payback of 3.5 years based on;
- Price forecast of US$1,170/t SC6 and US$20,970/t for battery grade Li2CO3
- Current spot price is approx. US$775/t SC6 and US$10,680/t for battery grade LC
- Operating costs at around US$3,976/tonne; capital cost estimate of US$494 million
- Expected annual revenue of approx US$383 million and EBITDA of around US$147 million
- Project break even at around US$780 /t (SC6) and around US$14,000 per tonne LC
As an integral part of the company’s DFS, Lithium Universe has initiated metallurgical testing on various sources of spodumene. This process involves utilizing the flow sheet developed for the Québec Lithium Processing Hub refinery.
Currently, the testing is progressing smoothly, and no challenges have been identified with any of the spodumene samples. Each test program is thorough and spans several weeks, with two complete programs already concluded successfully achieving higher than the international battery grade specification of 99.5 percent lithium carbonate. All impurity levels were well within specification limits.
Management Team
Iggy Tan - Executive Chair
Iggy Tan, a trailblazer of the modern lithium industry, was one of the first Australian mining executives to identify the significant opportunity within the emerging lithium-ion battery sector when he spearheaded Galaxy Resources Limited. Tan is looking to replicate that success with Lithium Universe, having built Galaxy’s Mt Cattlin Spodumene Project and the downstream Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate project. He also acquired the James Bay Spodumene Project in Canada and the Sal de Vida Brine Project in Argentina for Galaxy.
When Tan started at Galaxy, the company’s market capitalization was less than AU$10 million. It rose to AU$2.5 billion when the company merged with Orocobre Limited in August 2021. Tan's previous experience working with lithium dates back to the early 1990s when he briefly managed the Greenbushes Lithium Mine and commissioned the first lithium carbonate plant for Gwalia Consolidated.
Tan has over 30 years of chemical and mining experience and has served as executive director for a number of ASX-listed companies. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern Cross, a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is currently CEO and managing director of Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC,FRA:A3Y)
Alex Hanly - Chief Executive Officer
Alex Hanly has over 10 years of experience in capital delivery and operational management for publicly listed companies within the mining, oil & gas, and manufacturing industries in Australia and Africa. Over the last three years, Hanly held the role of chief executive officer of ASX-listed gold company Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL). He was responsible for the successful IPO of the company, the operational management and the efficient execution of the fast-track strategy.
Hanly has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Master of Business Administration specialising in global project management.
Patrick Scallan - Non-executive Director
Patrick Scallan’s extensive experience in the lithium industry is a valuable addition to the LGX board. With over 25 years of management experience at the world-class Greenbushes Mine, he is a seasoned veteran. Greenbushes is the largest lithium hard rock mine globally and also hosts the highest-grade ore body in the world. This makes Greenbushes a unique anomaly, as no other lithium deposit worldwide compares to it.
Scallan oversaw the mine’s many expansions, increasing annual output from 200,000 in 1997 to 1.4 million tpa today, and navigated numerous ownership changes during his tenure. He is a specialist in hard rock mining and spodumene concentrating, with downstream relationships with major spodumene converters worldwide.
Scallan is also highly skilled in managing local community relationships, having acted as shire councillor for nearly 20 years during his time at Greenbushes, receiving his Order of Australia Medal for his community and local government contribution. His previous roles include management positions at Capel and Eneabba Mineral Sands in Western Australia and Western Deep Levels Gold Mine in South Africa.
Dr. Jingyuan Liu - Non-executive director
Dr Jingyuan Liu is widely regarded as a leading technical expert in the lithium industry. He previously held the position of general manager of development and technologies at Galaxy Resources, where he was responsible for overseeing the construction and commissioning of the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Project and the world-renowned Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate plant. Liu also played a key role in designing the flow sheet for the Sal de Vida brine project.
Following his work with Galaxy, he has acted as a special adviser to various lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide projects globally, including the Lithium Hydroxide Plant operated by Tianqi in Kwinana, Western Australia.
Liu has over 30 years’ experience in project management, process and equipment design for minerals processing and the chemicals, non-ferrous metals, iron & steel and energy industries, both in Australian and internationally. He was awarded a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Newcastle, Australia and has worked in senior chemical engineering roles with leading companies such as Hatch Engineering and Metso Minerals in Australia and Malaysia.
He is currently chief technology officer for Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC), developing high capacity silicon anode lithium-ion batteries.
Gernot Abl - Executive Director
Gernot Abl was previously a strategic managing director with vast experience in business management, operations and investment for some of the fastest growing industries in the world. After gaining over 15 years of corporate experience, he led the only pure esports play listed on the ASX, Esports Mogul Limited. Abl has a proven background in business management and commercial intuition, initially from working as a management consultant for both Deloitte Consulting and Deloitte Corporate Finance in Perth and Melbourne.
Abl also led the restructure and turnaround of a financially distressed ASX-listed media company and currently holds directorships for a range of start-up companies, offering corporate advisory, project management and commercial negotiation advice to multiple businesses. He has a degree in law and commerce with honours in finance and accounting from the University of Western Australia.
John Sobolewski - Chief Financial Officer
John Sobolewski’s experience in the lithium industry offers another valuable addition to the LU7 dream team. At Galaxy Resources, he played a pivotal role during the feasibility, funding, construction and operation phases of the Mt Cattlin Spodumene mine and Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate refinery. He was also crucial in establishing teams and systems in Australia and internationally. His experience in financial modelling and debt modelling for both projects will be critical in Lithium Universe, completing definitive feasibility studies of the Québec Lithium Processing Hub concentrator and lithium carbonate refinery projects.
Sobolewski is a chartered accountant and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His previous roles include managing director and CEO with Mintrex, CFO and company secretary with Mintrex, Galaxy Resources Limited and Vital Metals Limited, financial controller and company secretary with Croesus Mining NL, and group accountant and company secretary with Titan Resources NL.
Vincent John Fayad - Joint Company Secretary
Vincent John Fayad is a chartered accountant with over 40 years of experience in corporate finance, international M&A, accounting and advisory-related services primarily undertaken by mid-tier accounting firm PKF. In 2016, he established his own firm, Vince Fayad & Associates, to provide accounting and advisory services within Australia and overseas.
Over the last 25 years, Fayad has spent a significant amount of time advising on various transactions, predominantly related to the mining and exploration industries and providing accounting and corporate secretarial experience to mining exploration companies.
Fayad is currently an executive director and joint company secretary of Astute Metals NL (ASX:ASE) and joint company secretary of Greenvale Energy (ASX:GRV). He is also a non-executive director of Nexon Asia Pacific, a telecommunications company, controlled by private equity group EQT.
Kurt Laney - Joint Company Secretary
Kurt Laney is an experienced chartered accountant specialising in the provision of advisory, consultancy, taxation and corporate secretarial services. Laney is currently an associate director of Vince Fayad and Associates, where he provides accounting and taxation services to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, large family-owned businesses and multinational entities.
Laney is also the joint company secretary and CFO of Greenvale Energy Ltd (ASX:GRV) and Astute Metals NL (ASX:ASE), along with several unlisted public companies primarily focused on the tech and mining industries. He has previously served as the company secretary of Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL).
Justin Rivers - Head of Geology
Justin Rivers possesses more than 20 years of senior executive, technical and commercial experience in Africa, Australia, Asia, Arctic, Middle East, North America and South America in the major and junior space, with a particular focus on Iron Ore and Gold. He has a well-tenured strategic and tactical approach to the mining industry with intimate commercial, business development and M&A experience in Tier-1, publicly listed and private equity environments.
Prior to joining Lithium Universe Limited, Rivers held the position of executive director and CEO of Mauritian domiciled private equity company Convertible Resources, driving strategic development of its gold projects in the Siguiri region of northeast Guinea. He has a Bachelor of Science (first class honours) majoring in geology and environmental science from the University of Tasmania.
Terry Stark - Head of Mining
Terry Stark was previously managing director - resources division for Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY), where he was responsible for all of Galaxy’s mineral resources assets such as exploration and mine operations. Stark oversaw the Mt Cattlin construction and subsequent successful start-up. He also managed the Galaxy James Bay project and had a good relationship with the local Cree Nation.
A veteran mining engineer, Stark holds a Bachelor of Applied Science specialising in mining engineering.
John Loxton - Head of Lithium Carbonate Refinery
John Loxton's lithium experience commenced in 2010 with work on the Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate Plant EPCM for Galaxy Resources in China where his responsibilities initially were at a Sponsor level, and further into the project. He was the project manager for the final stages of construction and commissioning. In 2019, Loxton was engaged by Tianqi Lithium as head of projects for the execution of their investment in a lithium hydroxide processing plant in Kwinana, Western Australia. He managed the commissioning of the first train achieving the first product in 2021 and undertook execution planning and establishing a project team for an identical second train in 2022. Loxton is a project manager with over 45 years of experience across a diverse range of energy, industrial, process, civil, and major infrastructure projects.
Roger Pover — Head of Processing
Roger Pover was previously the Mt Cattlin plant manager for Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY). He was part of the commissioning and start up team and operated the plant for many years. Pover also directed all optimisation modifications made at Mt Cattlin.
Pover is a veteran in the lithium industry, having commenced his career at Greenbushes Lithium mine in the early 90s. He has a 45-year career in the mining and chemical processing industries involving mineral sands, alumina refining, lithium, iron ore, tantalum minerals and tin production.
Huy Nguyen — Engineering Manager
Huy Nguyen has been seconded from Mintrex to act as Lithium Universe Limited’s engineering client representative. Mintrex was the lead engineering company that designed and constructed (together with DRA Global) the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Plant.
Nguyen was part of the construction supervision when Mt Cattlin was built, so he is experienced with not only the design but also the construction process that delivered a project on time and on budget.
Nguyen has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Curtin University, Master of Business Administration and a member of Engineer Australia.
Victoria Vargas - Director, Lithium Universe Holdings (Canada)
Victoria Vargas brings to Lithium Universe (Holdings) more than 25 years of experience in the North American capital markets, with a significant focus on the Canadian mineral sector. She began her career at Kinross Gold Corporation and joined Alamos Gold in 2004. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in enhancing investor exposure and facilitating the company's transition from the TSX Venture to the TSX. Before joining Alamos Gold, Vargas worked for H2O Innovation, a Québec-based company focused on providing best-in-class technologies and services for the water and wastewater treatment industry.
Interim Results for Six-Month Period Ending 30 June 2024
CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, Frankfurt:T2N, OTCQX:CTLHF), an exploration and development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile for the clean energy transition, is pleased to announce its unaudited Interim Results for the six-month period ended 30 June 2024 ("1H 2024" or "the Period").
The Company has made significant progress with the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") at the flagship project, Laguna Verde, and seen encouraging results from the Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") pilot plant in Chile and will be producing battery-grade lithium carbonate for potential strategic partners to evaluate. The Company is also pursuing a dual listing on the Australian Stock Exchange ("ASX") and aims to be trading on the ASX in Q4 2024.
Highlights of the Period:
Operational:
· Health & Safety:
o Zero-harm safety culture focused on continuous improvement to achieve an injury free and healthy work environment - no LTIs, major incidents or near misses recorded in 1H 2024.
· Laguna Verde Drilling Programme:
o Five-well resource drilling programme commenced. Work designed in collaboration with Montgomery & Associates, a leading hydrogeology and resource evaluation consultancy.
o Programme aims to produce a maiden reserves estimate using modifying factors from the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") which is underway and targeted for completion by the end of 2024.
· DLE Pilot Plant:
o Operational and producing high quality lithium chloride eluate with low impurities.
o Eluate is being converted to produce batches of battery-grade lithium carbonate which will be made available to potential strategic partners in Q4 2024 to start product qualification.
o Inauguration event was held in May 2024 where local communities and government officials were in attendance.
· Project Licences:
o CTL entered into a sale and purchase agreement ("SPA"), now taking full ownership of certain Laguna Verde licences that were previously held by way of an option agreement
o The licences held in the Salar de Atacama basin, which we understand are located outside the salar area defined as strategic by the Government and have been re-named the 'Arenas Blancas' project, are a potentially very promising opportunity.
· CEOL Contracts:
o Expressions of Interest ("RFIs") for a total of five lithium projects have been submitted to the Chilean Government. CTL is very well positioned as the most advanced exploration stage company progressing DLE based projects in Chile.
o Francisco Basin project has been renamed Viento Andino, in line with the RFI submission, to highlight the project area is outside a national park of a similar name located in the basin.
Corporate:
· Board changes:
o Executive Chairman Steve Kesler assumed the duties of CEO on an interim basis, following the resignation of CEO, Aldo Boitano in April.
o The search for a new CEO is well underway and the chosen candidate will be announced in due course.
· Cash position:
o The Company's cash position at the period end, including proceeds received from Loan Notes shortly after period end, was £2.1 million.
Post-period Highlights:
Operational:
o Pump tests and a reinjection well at Laguna Verde, planned to be undertaken in Q4 2024, will help define the brine extraction and reinjection wellfield design and the sustainable production rate required for the PFS.
o A plant location study was completed by Worley for the Laguna Verde project and concluded that the DLE and eluate concentration should be undertaken at project site and the purification and carbonation close to Copiapo which is at a lower elevation with good technical support locally available. This latter plant would be expanded in the future to also process concentrated eluate from the Viento Andino project.
o Completion of the first stage of production of concentrated eluate from the Company´s DLE pilot plant which has been shipped for conversion to battery-grade lithium carbonate by process partners in North America.
Corporate:
· ASX Listing:
o The Company is seeking to dual-list on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX"). Although the Company announced an extension to the ASX IPO timetable on 20 September 2024, to allow it to address some procedural matters raised by ASX, the intention remains to complete the IPO before the year end. An associated capital raise is planned to enable completion of the PFS and continuance of other work programmes. Notwithstanding, the Company continues to consider its funding options on an ongoing basis as a part of its normal practice.
· CEOL Process:
o The Government has streamlined the CEOL process, announcing an update at the end of September prioritising six salt flats for lithium development including Laguna Verde, the Company's flagship project, as having the most favourable conditions to advance lithium exploration and extraction. CEOL applications to be submitted by 31st December 2024.
· Local stakeholders:
o CTL attended a seminar organised by CESCO alongside local indigenous communities. The President of the Colla Pai-Ote community publicly endorsed CTL's Laguna Verde project as the way forward for the lithium industry in Chile, which was widely reported in the Chilean media.
o CTL's DLE carousel equipment is now installed at the University of Atacama as part of an ongoing partnership. The DLE equipment will be available for research programmes. The long-term collaboration between the University and CTL will help nurture the skills required for fostering the lithium industry in the Atacama region.
Steve Kesler, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO, CleanTech Lithium said:
"The first half of 2024 has seen significant operational and strategic progress on our lithium projects in Chile. This includes the production of high quality lithium chloride eluate with low impurities from our DLE pilot plant, which has a capacity to produce one tonne per month of lithium carbonate equivalent. A drilling, pump testing and reinjection programme was started at Laguna Verde aimed at updating the JORC resource estimate, providing data for the PFS and developing of a maiden reserve estimate.
"The Company is also in the process of listing on the ASX exchange, which will support its future development, as it enters potential strategic partner discussions and progresses towards production. Whilst this process has been delayed, the ASX market is well versed in the lithium sector and a meaningful number of the Company's existing shareholders have Australian links.
"With the PFS well underway and project development ongoing, backed by the strong support from local indigenous communities and aligned with the objectives of Government's National Lithium Strategy, we look forward to the future with confidence."
CHAIRMAN AND INTERIM CEO REVIEW
The following review is a look back at the highlights from the first half of 2024:
Business Strategy
CleanTech Lithium continues to make great strides in meeting the objective of becoming a leading supplier of battery-grade lithium carbonate to support the world's transition to clean energy. The progress made towards building sustainable lithium projects in Chile where the Company is planning to use Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") powered by renewable energy directly addresses the Chilean Government's ambition to drive positive change in sustainability and social and economic development.
The 'National Lithium Strategy', proposed by the President of Chile in late April 2023, aims to ensure Chile remains a top producer and supplier of lithium - a critical component for batteries in Electric Vehicles and energy storage systems ("ESS"). The established mining jurisdiction is currently the largest supplier of copper in the world and one of the largest suppliers of battery grade lithium. To move to a world run on clean energy, new lithium projects are needed, and Chile has the established infrastructure, industry expertise and workforce to bring projects like CleanTech Lithium's into production in the next few years.
New projects must be built in the right way and the Government has prescribed the use of DLE (or similar sustainable technologies) for all new lithium development projects going forward. CleanTech Lithium's strategy is to play a significant role in assisting the Chilean government to achieve this ambition. The Company believes it is most the advanced development stage DLE company operating in Chile and the achievements made in the first half of 2024 is evidence of this. It is very encouraging to see the Company's DLE Pilot Plant producing samples of battery-grade lithium carbonate which will soon be tested by potential strategic partners.
The Company's business strategy is focused on delivering long-term sustainable growth and returns for all stakeholders, built on four pillars:
· develop the Company's advanced lithium projects (Laguna Verde, Viento Andino) and progress the early-stage exploration projects (Arenas Blancas and Llamara) in Chile;
· utilise innovative technologies, including DLE and, where possible, renewable energy to sustainably produce lithium carbonate;
· produce commercial battery-grade lithium carbonate with high lithium recoveries and short production time; and
· supply directly into the EV and battery storage market via strategic partners and offtake agreements.
To this end, the Company's immediate objectives are as follows:
· update the JORC resource estimate for Laguna Verde on completion of the 2024 drilling campaigns and declare a maiden reserves estimate;
· complete planned hydrogeological studies and metallurgical tests at Laguna Verde, including completing a new reinjection well and pump tests to provide the data required to further advance modelling of the sub-surface aquifer and design the extraction and reinjection wellfields;
· deliver a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") at the Laguna Verde Project and commence the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") soon afterwards;
· complete the process test work at the DLE Pilot Plant and make battery grade lithium carbonate available for supply to potential offtake and strategic partners to start product qualification;
· continue the required work to complete the environmental baseline studies that commenced in 2022 and undertake the studies required to enable submission of the EIA in 1H 2025;
· enter into a Special Lithium Operation Contract (CEOL) with the Chilean State in relation to the Laguna Verde and Viento Andino Projects to commercially sell lithium;
· continue to collaborate with the local indigenous communities, universities and other local stakeholders to ensure long-term support for the projects, and
· enter into substantive discussions with potential offtake and strategic partners with a view to reaching agreement on a future business relationship, including establishing a funding package for the construction phases of the Laguna Verde Project, including equity participation, debt and other structures, to bring the project on stream and start selling lithium carbonate at the earliest possible opportunity.
Summary of Company Activity
In the first six months of the year, CleanTech Lithium made further progress toward delivering its PFS. This included commencing a five-well drilling programme at Laguna Verde, the commissioning of its DLE pilot plant and first production of highly concentrated eluate for further processing to make battery-grade lithium carbonate. The PFS is instrumental to support discussions with potential strategic partners. The Company is also seeking to dual-list on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX"). Although the Company announced an extension to the ASX IPO timetable on 20 September 2024, to allow it to address some procedural matters raised by ASX, the intention remains to complete the IPO before the year end. Notwithstanding, the Company continues to consider its funding options on an ongoing basis as a part of its normal practice.
Operations
Health and Safety
The Company maintains a zero-harm safety culture focused on continuous improvement to achieve an injury free and healthy work environment, with no lost time incidents ("LTIs"), major incidents, or near misses reported in the first half of 2024.
Five-Well Drilling Programme at Laguna Verde
The Company commenced a five well drilling programme at Laguna Verde largely aimed at converting Inferred resource to additional Measured & Indicated resource which will then have technical and economic modifying factors applied from the PFS to determine a maiden reserve. The programme was designed in collaboration with Montgomery & Associates, a leading international hydrogeology and resource evaluation consultancy.
The drill programme began in Q1 2024, with the commencement of wells LV07 and LV11 and suspended in May on the onset of the winter shut-down period, with the plan to recommence in October. The programme will also include additional pump testing and reinjection testing in Q4 2024 with results helping to calibrate the hydrogeological model of the basin. This model will help further define the brine extraction and reinjection wellfield design and the sustainable production rate from Laguna Verde. Montgomery & Associates have been engaged to manage the drill programme, JORC resource and reserves reporting and design of the extraction and reinjection wellfields.
Laguna Verde is the Company's most advanced project and has a total JORC resource of 1.8 million tonnes LCE, of which 1.1 million is in the Measured and Indicated category. Laguna Verde's Scoping Study, announced in January 2023, highlighted robust economics, with an NPV8 of US$1.8bn, an IRR of 45.1%, net cashflows of US$6.3 billion and a low operating costs of US$3,875/t for 30 years of production at 20,000 tpa LCE.
Drilling programmes at Laguna Verde since 2022
DLE Pilot Plant Commissioning and Production
The Company´s one-tonne per month DLE pilot plant (supplied by Sunresin) is located in Copiapó, Chile, approximately 250km from Laguna Verde, and finished commissioning in late March. At the R&D centre where the pilot plant is located, brine from the Laguna Verde project is stored in a large 243,000 litre vessel outside the pilot plant and then fed into an indoor tank having passed through filtration to remove suspended solids. It is then fed into the DLE columns shown in the image below, which are filled with adsorbent designed to be selective for lithium molecules. Lithium, as lithium chloride, is adsorbed from the brine, before desorption with water to create a purified lithium chloride eluate.
DLE Pilot Plant at R&D Centre in Copiapó, Chile (30 x approx. 3m columns to produce up to 1 tonne per month of LCE)
Testing of a wide range of commercially available adsorbents identified that the adsorbent supplied by Lanshen performed the best on the Laguna Verde brine resulting in the selection of this adsorbent. The DLE Pilot Plant commenced operation in Q2 2024, producing high quality concentrated eluate. In May, the Company reported the key DLE performance metrics for the first batch of 24m3 of concentrated eluate produced at the pilot plant. The recovery of lithium from the brine was 94% in the adsorption stage and 88% into the eluate. The lithium grade in the feed brine of 197mg/L was concentrated to 710mg/L in the eluate, or a 3.6X concentration factor. These results exceeded the Company's expectations. The eluate was further concentrated by reverse osmosis to 2,194mg/l.
For the first stage of production, a total volume of 1,196m3 of brine from the Laguna Verde Project was processed at the DLE pilot plant with a total of 14 cycles completed. Each cycle represents a volume of brine being fed first through filtration to remove suspended solids, then into DLE columns which are filled with adsorbent designed to be selective for lithium molecules. Lithium, as lithium chloride, is adsorbed from the brine, before desorption with water to create a purified lithium eluate.
Averaged across the 14 cycles, the recovery rate achieved by adsorption of lithium from the brine was 95% and the recovery rate of desorption from the adsorbent was 93%. The total recovery rate into eluate averaged 88% and was highly consistent as shown in the figure below. The temperature of the brine and desorption water, using the average ambient temperature in Copiapó during the March to June period of operation, was in the range of 20oC to 25oC indicating that good performance was achieved without the need to heat solutions in either adsorption or desorption.
Pilot Plant Total Recovery Rate
The eluate production rate was relatively stable after the initial ramp up period achieving an average of 2.8 kg LCE per hour demonstrating that the design capacity of the pilot plant of 1 tonne LCE per month was comfortably achieved. Selectivity of the adsorbent is another key performance parameter for a DLE operation. DLE primarily acts as a purification stage, recovering lithium chloride from the brine whilst rejecting other impurities. For all the major ions in the brine, apart from boron, the rejection rate was very high, exceeding 99%.
DLE Performance - Rejection of Major Impurities
The downstream conversion of lithium chloride solution to battery grade lithium carbonate is well established in the lithium industry. Rather than spending capital on constructing a lithium carbonate conversion plant, the Company decided to partner with Conductive Energy, an Alberta, Canada company to undertake this conversion at its existing facility in Chicago.
An initial 200L batch of concentrated eluate, was shipped to Conductive Energy in May. This batch was used as a trial before setting up the conversion process that would be used for processing larger volumes of eluate produced by our DLE pilot plant into battery grade lithium carbonate. Conductive Energy completed the set-up test-work producing lithium carbonate of 99.75% purity which is battery grade. This process comprises concentration of the concentrated eluate to 18,000mg/l Li by forward osmosis followed by ion exchange to remove the trace impurities of calcium, magnesium and boron and then carbonation with sodium carbonate to produce battery grade lithium carbonate.
On completion of this trial, the Company subsequently shipped batches of concentrated eluate from the pilot plant, with a total of 88m3 shipped by late July, which is equivalent to approximately one tonne of lithium carbonate.
The downstream plant is being commissioned with lithium carbonate production expected in October 2024. This will provide the Company with the capacity to supply significant quantities of battery-grade lithium carbonate samples to potential strategic partners and offtakers to commence product qualification.
Pilot Plant Inauguration
In May, the DLE pilot plant was officially inaugurated in Copiapó with a ceremony attended by various regional authorities, indigenous community leaders, academics, and business representatives. Attendees at the ceremony included the Presidential Delegate of the Atacama Region, Luis Pino, Regional Councillor Javier Castillo; CORFO Director Rosa Roman, CORPROA President Andres Rubilar; miners' union president Joel Carrizo; indigenous community representatives Christian Milla and Ercillia Araya.
