A couple of excerpts from an article on stonk-head.Greenbushes...

A couple of excerpts from an article on stonk-head.

Greenbushes South although highly speculative (in it's infancy) could become a massive drawcard for those wanting exposure in both Brines & Hard rock!

I've left Lake's mention in as a comparison; note the lack there of impurities - grade (cut-off) mentioned within the article: that shite just sorts itself out with some beads & hydrochloric acid

Grades of 1-1.5% considered the benchmark

Grades of above 1-1.5% lithium oxide – (Li2O) is produced by the thermal dehydration of lithium hydroxide – are considered the benchmark for drilling results.

The typical spodumene concentrate suitable for lithium carbonate production presents at around 6-7% Li2O

You can get grades above 2% like at the Greenbushes mine in WA’s South-West where even its tailings are so rich in lithium that at a grade of 1.3% the battery metal is found in higher concentrations than many primary mines.

But that’s generally considered an outlier.

For miners in the 1-1.5% spot, since lithium prices are so high, there’s also the option of pushing cut-off grades down slightly and going with a larger, lower grade deposit.

Let’s talk lithium brines

Grab a cuppa because we are about to delve into lithium brines.

These deposits are accumulations of saline groundwater that are enriched in dissolved lithium, and the brine can be pumped to the surface to be evaporated in a succession of ponds.

Each transfer to a new pond achieves a higher purity until the brines are processed in a chimerical plant between 1-2% lithium carbonate concentrate.

This can be further processed into lithium hydroxide – an extra step that translates into extra costs.

Brines are mostly found in Latin America in the famous ‘Lithium Triangle’ in the Andes mountains where Argentina, Bolivia and Chile meet.

And the reason for this is due to a combination of factors, such as the presence of source rocks known as acid volcanics and an area where water has historically run off these acid volcanics into a landlocked lake.

Aerial view of a pond filling with brine at the Hombre Muerto project in Argentina. Source: Galan Lithium.

Measured in milligrams of lithium per litre

Brine projects are generally large in scale and low in grade, measured not in percentages but milligrams of lithium per litre of brine.

According to the US Geological Survey economic brines tend to measure between 200 to a whopping 4,000mg/L, but most significant operations tend to measure 400-600mg/L or above.

While brines have lower concentrations of lithium pound-for-pound compared to their hard rock counterparts, their comparative ease of extraction means that they generally have lower production costs.

And many players are looking to direct lithium extraction (DLE) as a more environmentally friendly process to produce cheaper, higher quality lithium because it eliminates the need for solar evaporation ponds, salt piles, and lime plants.

In a nutshell, the process involves a highly selective absorbent to extract lithium from brine water. The solution extracted from the brine water is then polished of impurities to yield high-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.

Plus, DLE also rejects critical impurities, yielding a higher quality product.

We couldn’t find any pics of brine CEOs looking outrageously happy, so here’s what the process flowsheet looks like. Source. Allkem.

Brine lithium plays:

ALLKEM (ASX:AKE)

The company’s Olaroz project in Argentina contains an estimated measured and indicated resource of 1,752 million cubic metres of brine at 690mg/L lithium, 5,730mg/L potassium and 1,050mg/L boron for 6.4Mt of lithium carbonate and 19.3Mt of potash (potassium chloride).

But it’s also worth noting the company also has the Mt Cattlin spodumene mine in WA and yesterday AKE said that – despite some operational issues with grades, Covid, recoveries and stripping ratios – it produced a record 193,563t of spodumene concentrate in FY22.

The company says it expects to see relatively stable prices in lithium chemicals, carbonates and hydroxide and a continued increase in spodumene prices for the September quarter.

LAKE RESOURCES (ASX:LKE)

Lake’s Kachi lithium brine project in Argentina currently has an inferred resource of 3.4 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent and an indicated resource of 1MT LCE.

Earlier this month the company retorted to a recent report by J Capital who it says put forth incorrect information on technical matters and inaccurate assertions on Lake Resources’ progress to-date with its technology partner Lilac Solutions for brine from its Kachi project in Argentina.

“The report’s description of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) processes does not pertain to Lilac’s ion exchange technology,” Lake says. “It is criticising the wrong process.”

For the uninitiated, Lilac’s ion exchange technology is a chemical process where the targeted ion (lithium) in brine is exchanged for hydrogen in a charged media in the form of a ceramic bead.

The ion exchange process can be operated with zero net usage of fresh water by using small amounts of brackish water which is not fit for human consumption or agriculture and is available in large quantities at the Kachi site.

Pre-treatment of the brine to remove magnesium or calcium is not required as these ions are rejected in the ion exchange process.

The bead is then stripped of lithium using hydrochloric acid to produce an aqueous lithium chloride solution.

GALAN LITHIUM (ASX:GLN)

The company has three projects – the Candelas and Hombre Muerto West (HMW) brine projects in Argentina and the Greenbushes South hard rock project in WA.

Candelas North has a JORC resource of 684,850 tonnes of contained lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at 672 mg/l Li (based on a 500mg/l Li cut-off).

HMW currently hosts a resource of 2.3Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent at a grade of 946mg/li lithium, the third largest disclosed resource in the rich Hombre Muerto basin.

The company recently completed pump testing at HMW, with brine sampling confirming a high-grade resource greater than 910 mg/L lithium.

“High lithium grades, porosity and brine flow rates are a powerful combination for driving operational efficiency and economic performance,” MD JP Vargas de la Vega said.

“These outstanding hydrological outcomes are paramount to the project DFS foundations and further validates the world-class nature of the lithium brine resource we hold at HMW.