nice write up in The Australian

Arizona Lithium Prairie DLE material produces battery-grade lithium carbonate

Production of battery grade lithium carbonate from DLE eluent proves up the flow sheet for Arizona Lithium’s Prairie Project. Pic: Getty Images

• Arizona Lithium produces battery grade lithium carbonate from Prairie Project DLE material

• Pilot production confirms flow sheet to produce the right product for the battery sector

• Focus now on bringing Prairie Project Pad #1 into production in 2025

Special Report: Arizona Lithium has chalked up another win with the successful production of battery grade lithium carbonate from the direct lithium extraction eluent of the ILiad pilot plant at its Prairie Project in Saskatchewan, Canada.

DLE eluent produced by the plant from November 2023 to February 2024 was sent to Saltworks facility in Vancouver where it was converted into lithium carbonate.

Arizona Lithium (ASX:AZL) has also drilled the first commercial well at the Prairie Pad ^#1 with production of lithium brines exceeding expectations.

Pad ^#1 has already been conditionally approved for a $21 million incentive in the form of future royalty credits under the Saskatchewan Government’s Oil & Gas Processing Investment Incentive (OGPII) program.

Prairie is one of AZL’s two sustainable large North American lithium developments, the second being the immense Big Sandy Lithium Project in Arizona.

The Company recently secured licences to drill two wells at Pad ^#2, which will substantially increase production given that each pad is designed to produce 2,000tpa of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), for an initial production target of 6,000tpa LCE.

“Producing battery grade lithium carbonate from our flowsheet is an important step in showing the market the quality of product that we can produce,” managing director Paul Lloyd said.

“The battery grade product we produced is in sufficient quantities to go out to all the offtakers and strategic partners we are in conversation with.

“Our team remains focused on bringing Pad ^#1 at the Prairie Project into production in 2025.”

Lithium carbonate process flow diagram. Pic: Arizona Lithium

Prairie Project

The Prairie Project in the Williston Basin of Saskatchewan holds a resource of 6.3Mt LCE, 4.5Mt of which is in the higher confidence indicated category.

The Project is connected to key infrastructure including electricity, natural gas, fresh water, paved highways, and railroads thanks to the Williston Basin being a major oil-producing hub.

AZL seeks to extract rich lithium salts from briny groundwater, giving it ESG benefits over water and land hungry South American brine competitors, who are facing increased scrutiny for drawing community water sources in arid regions.

It also aligns with the company’s goal to have strong environmental credentials for the development of Prairie.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.