E3 Lithium given licence for field pilot plant in Alberta

E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETL; OTC: EEMMF) has received the licence from the Alberta Energy Regulator of its 2023 field pilot plant. The company will build and operate the direct lithium extraction plant, set to begin operations in the third quarter of 2023.  

The project, located in the province’s Bashaw district, is the largest such resource in Canada. It hosts 6.6 measured tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and 9.4 million indicated tonnes of LCE for a total of 16 million tonnes. 

The pilot plant will be located at the first well E3 drilled in its 2022 drill program, east of the town of Olds in E3’s Clearwater project area. Work on the site construction and pre-operation is planned to begin early in May. Multiple potential flowsheets will be tested in the pilot to define the optimal commercial design. Additional details will be available by June. Construction costs for the pilot plant are expected to be between $4 million and $6 million. 

E3 says the plant will consist of two main parts. First is the ancillary equipment to move the brine from the aquifer and perform the necessary pre-treatment for the Li-IX extraction process. The second is the processing equipment, including the ion-exchange medium to concentrate the lithium fluid. 

The Clearwater preliminary economic assessment outlined an operation with an after-tax net present value at an 8% discount of US$820 million and a 27% after-tax internal rate of return. It would produce 20,000 t/y lithium hydroxide for 20 years. 

Detailed information is available on www.E3Lithium.ca.