Ekeko S.A. and Dr.Carlos Sorentino, page-4

I just researched some more info on the FAST processioning of Lithium from brine.

I got it from Pure Energy Minerals (PE:TSXV) SEDAR filings.
What good about the fact is this data comes from a public filing and NOT a news article is that if this is all a scam...someone's going to jail.

So as of right now...I believe there's some merit to this technology.

There seems to be 3 different processes which is good as I assume there's more.
What's good also is this testing was done on Nevada's brine and they clearly state that the Lithium Triangle would produce better results.

This is really exciting stuff.
Enjoy!


Lithium Brine Process Testing As discussed above, most lithium is produced from brines through the use of evaporation ponds and subsequent processing of a lithium brine concentrate. The efficacy of evaporation-based processing technology is dependent on evaporation rate, precipitation, and brine chemistry. Even in ideal climates, concentration by evaporation typically requires months. The climate at Clayton Valley, Nevada is less suited for evaporation processing than the Chilean Atacama Desert or the Argentinean Puna. Nevada has lower evaporation rates, due in large part to the higher precipitation rate. Hence, it is reasonable to expect longer lead times to lithium production and higher in-process inventory and associated costs if operating such ponds in the Nevada climate.

The Company also believes that large evaporation ponds pose other challenges due to their potentially significant environmental impacts. In addition to the visual and physical effect on the landscape of large evaporation ponds, the process of extracting and evaporating the brines may have an effect on the groundwater resources of the host basin. The process of operating an evaporation operation includes harvesting salts that precipitate on the bottom of the ponds, thus accumulating significant piles of waste salts.

These are some of the reasons Pure Energy is proposing to apply non-evaporation based lithium recovery technology to the potential future production from the Clayton Valley Project. To that end, the Company has conducted preliminary testing of its brine for lithium recovery by several new approaches. Given the favourable chemistry of the Clayton Valley brine, in particular, the low magnesium to lithium ratios, the Company’s engineering team is optimistic about the applicability of some of these new technologies.

Tenova Bateman Technologies (“TBT”), a subsidiary of the Techint Group, has a significant track record in applying solvent extraction for metals recovery in the mining industry. Its technology is well known in the uranium, copper, and nickel industries. TBT developed several technologies that have promise for cost-effective recovery of lithium without the need for evaporation ponds. The TBT process includes the following steps:

LiP™ – Physical removal of alkaline earth elements (Ca & Mg) using membranes;

LiSX™ - Recovery of lithium into concentrated high-purity lithium sulphate solution utilizing proven solvent extraction process; and,

LiEL™ - conversion of the lithium sulphate solution into a concentrated high-purity lithium hydroxide solution, using electrolysis, and subsequent crystallization into high-purity battery grade lithium hydroxide.

During 2015, Pure Energy Minerals submitted some of its brine to TBT for some preliminary tests of its LiPTM and LiSXTM processes. Commencing in January and finishing in April of 2015 the Company worked with TBT to conduct lab scale test work for the extraction of lithium from raw brine collected from the Clayton Valley South Project. The test work utilized TBT proprietary LiP™ (pre-treatment stage) and LiSX™ (Li-removal stage) processes for extraction of lithium from brine (schematically displayed in Figure 4). Note that TBT elected to use hydrochloric acid instead of sulfuric acid in the LiSXTM step during the laboratory-scale trials. .

Figure 4 - Preliminary Flow Sheet for Laboratory Scale Test Work



The laboratory-scale trial of the LiP™ process successfully removed most of the alkaline earth elements from the raw brine solution, (practically all the Mg and Sr and 93% of Ca). As this stream would be further polished in an industrial application, the pre-treatment results indicated excellent performance. The brine from the pre-treatment step was introduced into the solvent extraction circuit, where the process targeted a LiCl solution of 99.5% purity. The LiCl solution produced during the Clayton Valley trials reached 99.9% purity, exceeding the expectations of the team. Meanwhile, the lithium concentration in the raffinate (waste stream) was below the detection limit, indicating practically 100% Li recovery. It should be noted that the mini-pilot plant process will generate a Li2SO4 solution instead of a LiCl solution, which is more consistent with the process anticipated for a commercial scale operation. The Company was pleased with these preliminary results and has proceeded to a larger-scale trial in the minipilot plant.

If successfully applied at a commercial scale for lithium extraction and processing, an industrial process based around TBT’s LiSXTM technology would not require large-scale evaporation ponds. A solvent extraction lithium plant would draw its feed from a brine well field, just as evaporation based operations do, but the spent brine would be re-injected back into the basin once the lithium was extracted. Much lower net water usage is only one potential major advantage of this novel technology. This approach could also avoid some of the other drawbacks associated with evaporation lithium processing. For instance, a solvent extraction lithium plant would not be affected by precipitation or other weather phenomena. The processing time to extract lithium from brines through a continuous solvent extraction plant would be a matter of hours not months. The capital and operating costs associated with this technology are matters to be resolved through engineering and technical studies and stepwise advancement towards feasibility studies and commercial scale production.

Pure Energy Minerals has announced its intent to produce a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) on the Clayton Valley South Lithium Brine Project during 2016. A major part of a successful PEA is to advance the process test work through a mini-pilot plant. The Company took the first step in November 2015 when it paid a deposit to TBT of almost $60,000 to reserve its access to the R&D facility. Pure Energy announced on May 11, 2016 that work on a mini-pilot plant has commenced at TBT’s facility in Katzrin, Israel, again making a substantial payment (~50%) towards completion of the test work. The Company’s engineering team is working with TBT to fully evaluate the pre-treatment, solvent extraction, and electrolysis/crystallization steps required to produce battery grade lithium hydroxide from the Clayton Valley South brine. Beginning with approximately 20 tonnes of brine, the mini-pilot plant work and related engineering is expected to require up to 4 months to generate the data necessary for input to the mine design, cost estimates, and economic modeling.