Brine Beneficiation Test WorkThe brine blending and evaporation...

Brine Beneficiation Test Work
The brine blending and evaporation beneficiation test work continued during the quarter using brine
taken in the March 2021 quarter from the Company’s Rincon and Incahuasi projects (refer Figure 8).
The study has involved collection of 2,000 litres of brine from each of Rincon Salar and Incahuasi
Salar, which have been transported to Antofagasta in Chile for the test work.
Three testing regimes are being applied in the study:
 Test 1 – Blended brines
 Test 2 – Incahuasi brine
 Test 3 – Rincon brine
After eight weeks of testing, a lithium-ion concentration of 8,500 mg/kg was recorded for the blended
brine, a level 14 times that of Incahuasi brine and seven times that of Rincon brine (Figure 1).
Companies such as Orecobre (ASX:ORE) at their Olaroz project (100km north) concentrate to 7,000
mg/kg (ASX announcement 1 April 2011).
While the testing has another month to complete, the preliminary results suggest that the brine
blending process is viable and highly effective and, importantly, it is industry best practice to conduct
brine blending studies in order to evaluate and optimise future lithium chemical production.
The blending of brine with a high concentration of sulphate from the Salar del Rincon with the brine
of high concentration of calcium from the Salar de Incahuasi avoids the precipitation of lithium
sulphate and reduces the calcium content. By using this difference between the brines, it is possible
to obtain a higher concentration of lithium in the brine at a lower cost.