The continued references in presentations to bigger and better and repetitive comparisons to other companies give the impression rightly or wrongly that we do not have the answers to the key questions for our own project. Exploration is one part of the business processing is of greater importance. We continue to promote the project based on hopes and expectations of Lilac Solutions. a startup with an idea. that has yet to be commercialized. I have experience in commercializing "inventor's" ideas (in the field of electrolytic cells and microwave mineral processing). It is part of inventor's DNA to sincerely believe that they can solve any problems which is not always the case. As laymen we are naturally attracted to the sizzle before the steak.
The statements by LKE concerning "alternatives" have been vague. By now we should have a Plan B in place. Evaporation ponds result in a competitive disadvantage for brine with Kachi Li concentrations. With the amount of Li exploration underway it is inevitable that supply will in time match supply irrespective of how many "giga factories" are built. Then it will not matter how many Sydney Harbour or Manhattan equivalent of brine lay beneath the expanses of Kachi, but what happens to it when we get it to the surface. The future cost of processing including yields is what must exercise buyers minds. .
This statement was posted on Anson's site yesterday (also "partnering" Lilac)
"I contacted Bruce just for some clarity around the Outotec test work being done, whilst the information below isn't new info it summarizes all we know into a neat few paragraphs. I do admire Bruce for replying to shareholders as not all small caps communicate as effectively with SH's.
Bruce reply below;
Thank you for your email and the compliment. I can only provide clarification on announcements, so nothing new here.
Outotec have completed a number of tests on Anson’s brine. The results were compared with those from Lilac and the results from pond evaporation tests that we conducted.
Three different process,Lilac’s Ion Exchange which extracts the lithium only. Outotec’s mineral concentration through heat and/or vacuum evaporation prior to a planned solvent extraction which precipitates a magnesium and calcium before thelithium. Finally traditional pond evaporation to concentrate the mineralsbefore processing.
Lilac’s process produced the best results for lithium extraction and so we are proceeding to the next stageof work with Lilac for the extraction of lithium.
As you can understand we are focused on the extraction of lithium but we are examining methods where we can take advantage of the other minerals as well to optimize returns for investors.
We have announced that we have commissioned Hazen to conduct test work for the extraction of boron, bromine and iodine and that this may be done in front of the Lilac process to extract the lithium. The effluent in this process would contain calcium, magnesium,potassium and sodium which could be extracted by using the Outotec process should we decide to do that.
Outotec is considering what to recommend to us as the next stage of test work to ensure that the results from the solvent extraction method meets our goals" .
Prospective LCE buyers are of course interested in security of supply but not at any price. Have Lilac provided reliable OPEX estimates what are the "alternatives under ACTIVE consideration by LKE.
Cauchari. A question mark must remain until LKE " thesis" is proven The results from the first hole are due now. Reliance cannot be placed on Cauchari for investor decisions (small or large) until the results are known.
Standard Lithium https://standardlithium.com/lithium-arkansas-smackover/
For general information US Standard Lithium Smackover projects totaling 180,000 acres (72,800 hectare) project is of interest.
In their smaller project they like Anson they propose to draw their brine from 256 existing oil wells. But of greater interest is the second larger project which will extract Li from the brine tailings of bromine producer LANXESS. Lithium will to all intents be a by product of Bromine with virtually zero brine extraction or transport cost !! The three bromine factories are operational. "All" that is require is the Li extraction plant .. a pilot is on site. This is yet another alternative fast Li extraction process with outcomes similar to Lilac
"For the company’s Arkansas project, Standard Lithium has developed a proprietary process that uses a solid ceramic adsorbent material with a crystal lattice that is capable of selectively pulling Li + ions from the “tail brine” or waste brine after it has gone through the bromine-extraction step. The ceramic adsorbent materials are mounted in stirred-tank reactors that contain the brine. In the second step, the adsorbent releases the Li + ions for recovery.
"The Li-extraction process (diagram) takes advantage of the fact that the brine leaves the bromine process heated to approximately 70°C. This means that no additional energy is required, and the reaction kinetics for the adsorption are suitable. The process can reduce the time required for Li extraction from months (with the evaporation pools) to hours and is capable of producing a high-purity LiCl solution for further processing in the battery industry. The Li-extraction operation is currently operating as a “mini-pilot project,” and a larger skid-mounted pilot plant will be deployed at one of Lanxess’ Smackover Brine processing sites later this year."
This raises the question of the energy requirement for the Lilac process..
The positive takeout is that the principle of using adsorbent materials to separate the Li from the brine in a short time proposed by Lilac can be achieved The question is at what cost.
The Li content of the tail brine is similar to Anson150 to 500 mg/ l
(20min delay)