CPC Eng LS Pilot Plant design, page-20

With PLS focused on the offtake and financing support agreement with Ganfeng and building its concentration plant I wondered what had happened to the JV with LITl It is apparently still ongoing. I found this article on the Media section of the PLS home page
Lithium Australia produces 99.8% Li20 from uneconomic ore
Matt Birney, ASX listed company news as it happens.
Friday, 12 May 2017 7:43AM
“The latest trial examined the effectiveness of Sileach in processing Lithium Carbonate feed solutions generated from uneconomic grade spodumene concentrates from Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora deposit in WA.
A concentrate with a sub-commercial grade of just 3.4% Li2O was deliberately selected to demonstrate Sileach’s much-talked-about potential to economically extract Lithium from low-grade deposits.
The result was a Lithium Carbonate with a high purity of 99.8%, which, according to management is suitable for use in the burgeoning Lithium-ion battery manufacturing business.
The success of the trial will also be welcomed by Pilgangoora’s 100% owner, Pilbara Minerals, who last year joined forces with Lithium Australia to investigate the potential of Sileach to move into a downstream processing joint venture.
The company has set a time line for a commitment to invest in a large-scale pilot plant by the end of 2017.”
It would make sense for LIT to build its Large-Scale Test Plant at Pt Hedland to take advantage of supply from PLS and to advance the JV.
It could also service its own Australian resources, micas and hopefully spodumene from Ravensthorpe, when they eventually come on line. There are also 400 tonnes of lepidolite already mined on their Lepidolite Hill site.