E3 Lithium, which reported a JORC-compliant resource estimate of 16 million LCE at a concentration of 79 mg/L, has partnered with a third-party DLE technology developer in Alberta. They successfully constructed a pilot plant in just three months, with a total cost of $6 million CAD.
Today, E3 Lithium has announced the results of the first of three tests:
Initial lithium recovery: Achieved over 94% Purity of concentrate: Exceeded 80% Average lithium grade in concentrate: Reached 884 mg/L
It's worth noting that while a conventional lithium plant based on brine typically costs around $50,000 per tpa capacity, a DLE plant can be built at a much lower cost of $12,500 per tpa capacity.
The success of DLE technology appears promising and could become a reality within the next five years, possibly even sooner. One successful implementation of this technology could attract more buyers to the brine-based lithium market.
