Lithium phosphate refining vindicates cathode production with no requirement for lithium hydroxide

This price sensitive announcement today hasnrt shown up here yet so here it is

05 March 2019Lithium phosphate refining vindicates cathodeproduction with no requirement for lithiumhydroxide or carbonateHIGHLIGHTS▪ Lithium phosphate produced from Lithium Australia's SiLeach® Gen-2 PilotPlant has been further refined using a simple, proprietary purification process.▪ The resulting product has a significantly higher purity than that previously usedto create lithium-iron-phosphate cells via Lithium Australia's 100%-ownedVSPC cathode powder technology.▪ The latest refining process paves the way for the production of very high-puritycathodes while bypassing the supply restrictions of lithium carbonates andhydroxides.▪ High-quality lithium-ion batteries generated from mine waste are now a reality.Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT, or 'the Company') has successfully refined lithiumphosphate (‘LP') generated by its SiLeach® Gen-2 Pilot Plant to create a very pureproduct that is suitable for the direct generation of lithium-iron-phosphate ('LFP')powders for the production of lithium-ion batteries ('LIBs').The Company's production of LIBs using LP generated direct from mine waste was firstreported on 21 November 2018. Batteries produced in that manner demonstratedoutstanding potential, notwithstanding the fact that they were manufactured fromunrefined LP.Now, further refining of the LP by way of a simple proprietary process (details of whichwill be provided once updated IP applications are in place) has reduced theconcentrations of impurities such as potassium, sodium and sulphur by orders ofmagnitude, providing scope to further improve battery performance.The new LP refining stage fits seamlessly into the Company's SiLeach® process,developed to capitalise on the abundance of lithium micas (for which SiLeach®is ideallysuited). A combination of SiLeach® and VSPC cathode production reduces the numberof processing steps required to generate battery precursors and, importantly, removesthe requirement for the production of high-purity lithium hydroxide or carbonate, thisbeing one of the most technically challenging steps in the battery manufacturing process.Indicative impacts of the LP refining process in terms of impurity removal are shown inTable 1 below.Analysis % w/wK Na SSiLeach® Gen-2 Pilot Plant primary LP 0.25 – 0.35 0.15 – 0.25 0.51 – 0.57Refined LP 0.008 0.005 0.027Table 1. Typical impacts of LP refining to remove major Impurities.ASX ANNOUNCEMENT Li chemicals Page 2The LP refining process will be integrated into Lithium Australia's SiLeach®Gen-3 Pilot Plant, to be constructed at ANSTO Minerals (Sydney, Australia)in 2019. Once refined, the LP will be converted into cathode material and LIB cellsfor testing at the VSPC facility in Brisbane (results to be reported in due course).Lithium Australia expects this refining step to also significantly enhance the next roundof LieNA® process development. LieNA®is designed to recover lithium from spodumene(i.e. conventional lithium concentrates) in a caustic conversion that does not requireroasting, unlike conventional 'conversion' processes used for such materials (ASXannouncement 21 February 2019). Importantly, LieNA®is ideally suited to the recoveryof lithium from fine spodumene that cannot be processed by conventional methods. Thatinability to recovery lithium from fine materials conventionally can reduce lithium yieldsfrom spodumene ore to as low as 50%. In other words, LieNA® provides a potentialsolution to the loss of lithium in fine material.In combination, the Company's lithium extraction processes (SiLeach® and LieNA®) andVSPC cathode powder technology are effective in reducing the number of processingsteps required to manufacture battery components. In so doing, they have the potentialto reduce both the energy footprint and costs of production of battery components.Comment from Lithium Australia Managing Director Adrian Griffin“Process efficiency is the key to cost reduction in the battery industry. We have hit thenail on the head by using waste material as feed, and by reducing the number ofprocessing steps required to produce high-quality battery components. Collaborativedevelopment with our technology partner ANSTO Minerals continues to deliveroutstanding results for the Company. Our processing technologies also have greatpotential for the lithium brine industry, and we look forward to collaboration in thatsector.”Adrian GriffinManaging DirectorMobile +61 (0) 418 927 [email protected] Lithium Australia NLLithium Australia aspires to 'close the loop' on the energy-metal cycle in an ethical andsustainable manner. To that end, it has amassed a portfolio of projects and alliances anddeveloped innovative extraction processes to convert all lithium silicates (including minewaste) to lithium chemicals. From these chemicals, the Company plans to produceadvanced components for the lithium-ion battery industry. The final step for LithiumAustralia involves the recycling of spent batteries and e-waste. By uniting resources andthe best available technology, the Company aims to establish a vertically integratedlithium processing business.MEDIA CONTACT:
Adrian Griffin Lithium Australia NL 08 6145 0288 | +61 (0) 418 927 658Kevin Skinner Field Public Relations 08 8234 9555 | +61 (0) 414 822 631