LithiumBank Files Updated PEA with Improvements from cDLE^® Technology

1 March 2024

https://www.cleanteqwater.com/news/lithiumbank-files-updated-pea-with-improvements-from-cdle-technology/

LithiumBank has filed an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment technical report, entitled “Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for LithiumBank Resources Boardwalk Lithium-Brine Project in West- Central Alberta, Canada”. The updated PEA can be downloaded from SEDAR+ here. The PEA incorporates the exclusively licensed Continuous Direct Lithium Extraction (cDLE^®) technology from Go2Lithium (G2L), a joint venture between Clean TeQ Water and Computational Geosciences.

Boardwalk Updated PEA Improvements Highlights include:

• Increased lithium recovery of 98% using the G2L’s cDLE^® technology;
• Increased production to 34,005 tonnes per year of battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (“LHM“) over a 20-year period;
• A significant reduction of 34% in operational expenditures to USD $4,588 per tonne LHM;
• USD $3.7 Billion Net Present Value₈ (“NPV₈“) and 25.0% IRR on a pre-tax basis;
• USD $2.3 Billion NPV₈ and 20.6% IRR on an after-tax basis;
• Reduction in the payback period from 4.1 years to 3.5 years, on a pre-tax basis;
• Production of high-grade lithium sulphate (Li₂SO₄) eluate at a concentration of 3,238 mg/L Li (3.24 g/L Li);
• Lower cost and commercially available reagents used in the cDLE^® process;
• Majority of acid is recovered in the downstream processing and reused in the elution stage;
• Reduction in freshwater usage using the G2L cDLE^®;
• Achievement of commercial production within 3 years is possible under provincial permitting directives;
• Located in the resource friendly jurisdiction of west-central Alberta, which has a long history of resource extraction, well established infrastructure, and an actively supportive government;
• Power expected to be generated on site using high-efficiency gas turbines with steam cogeneration that is expected to lower the project’s overall carbon footprint. The proposed gas turbine units may be run on 80% hydrogen when a reliable supply is available;
• Project economics again used USD $26,000/t LHM and provides strong leverage to higher lithium prices; and
• No changes were made to the front end of the engineering which includes everything up to the DLE.

‍LithiumBank sees multiple avenues to create value in the coming months through continued derisking efforts such as updating the Inferred mineral resource estimate to Measured and Indicated at Boardwalk and commissioning of the 10,000 L/day lithium brine pilot plant currently being assembled in the Company’s Calgary, Alberta facility.

In addition to the Boardwalk project, LithiumBank also holds the Park Place lithium brine project which consists of 1.4M acres overlying the Leduc and Swan Hills Formations. Detailed subsurface modelling with SLB is nearing completing and is expected to result in an initial NI 43-101 Resource Estimate.

“Updating the Boardwalk PEA to incorporate our licensed technology from G2L to further enhance the asset is an important part of our development strategy,” commented LithiumBank CEO Rob Shewchuk. “Our goal is to provide de-risked, construction-ready direct lithium brine projects to major developers. Boardwalk is the most advanced to date, but we will continue to apply our model to the rest of our portfolio to create attractive, buildable assets.”

The full press release is available on LithiumBank’s website here.