CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, OTCQX:CTLHF) chairman Dr Steve Kesler talked with Proactive about the latest developments in Chile's lithium projects. The Chilean government recently announced the results of their expressions of interest, with 50 companies showing interest in 30 different salares. Over 80% of these companies plan to use direct lithium extraction (DLE), a method CleanTech Lithium leads in.
Kesler highlighted that CleanTech Lithium is the most advanced company in Chile applying DLE, positioning it as a strong contender for government prioritisation. The government aims to increase lithium production rapidly, with plans to have three or four new projects operational by 2026. CleanTech Lithium’s Laguna Verde and Viento Andino projects are at the forefront, already having conducted extensive exploration and development work.
"We have a pilot plant up and running, and we'll soon produce battery-grade lithium carbonate," said Kesler. He emphasised the company's ongoing dialogues with local communities and the formal alliance that supports project development due to its sustainable DLE method.
Proactive: Hello, you're watching Proactive, I'm joined by Dr. Steve Kesler. He is executive chairman of CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, OTCQX:CTLHF). Steve, good to speak with you again; the Chilean government has given an update on the expressions of interest to develop lithium projects in the country. So a positive development for CleanTech Lithium?
Steve Kesler: Yes. Stephen, good afternoon. Back in April, the government announced the administration process now leading to the award of sales, asking for private sector companies to express interest in doing lithium projects on the various salares. They always said that they would be announcing the results of that on July 9th, and they did that yesterday. The government is very pleased; they had 88 expressions of interest across those 30 odd salares. I think 50-odd companies expressed interest, so clearly the government was very pleased with that. They also made the point that over 80% of the expressions of interest indicated that they would use DLE for the production of lithium.
Steve Kesler: And as you know, CleanTech Lithium is the most advanced company in terms of applying DLE in Chile. The government then went on to explain what the next stages of the process will be. They've started detailed analysis of all of the projects on the various salares. They're going to take the results of this process to the various communities during the course of July to say, look, there's lots of interest in developing projects now in these areas and ask for comments, positive or any concerns. And then, in August, the government plans to look at the various projects where there are multiple expressions of interest for a single salar. They'll look at what the allocation criteria are to award a salar and they'll be looking at prioritizing which salares and projects should move ahead most rapidly. Clearly, they're being very supportive of the government's aim now to increase lithium production as soon as possible.
Steve Kesler: The Minister for Finance, Mario Marcel Cullell, has said they expect to see three or four new lithium projects up and running by 2026. And clearly, with by far the most advanced project, we believe we should be in pole position to be prioritized to help the government meet their ambition of getting lithium projects up and running as fast as possible.
Proactive: Well, I was going to ask you that, Steve. Given the competition you're seeing for those licenses, how confident are you that you'll be awarded a special lithium operating contract?
Steve Kesler: Well, I think when the government has been looking at the various expressions of interest, they'll look very carefully at CleanTech’s projects both at Laguna Verde and at Viento Andino and see that we are the only company that has actually done work on the ground. We've been doing exploration, and declared resources. We've been doing the metallurgical development. We have a pilot plant up and running. We're going to be making battery-grade lithium carbonate very soon. And we have control of these basins. We have mining licenses over those areas, which provides an extra degree of protection of the land. So, I think when the government evaluates our projects compared to others, we don't know if anybody else has applied for a salar on our project areas. I think that would actually be quite unlikely because we are so well-advanced. We would expect at the end of August to get the nod from the government that yes, we are the most advanced project. They are prioritizing Laguna Verde where we've done the most work.
Steve Kesler: Then we go down to the next phase, which is going to be: does the project require extensive dialogue with the indigenous communities in the area? We've already explained that we've been talking with the communities for the last two years. Also, we have a formal alliance agreement where they will support us in the development of the project because they see that the use of DLE is the most sustainable way of producing lithium. They want to see that happen at Laguna Verde and get benefits for the community as well. So, I think the dialogue period with communities should be quite short. We expect the communities to be very vociferous with the government, especially the Ministry of Mining, and say, look, we support this project. Let's get on, award the salar and get the project into production as fast as possible.
Steve Kesler: So, I think that's the expectation. And then we go into the dialogue now with the government about developing the contractual terms for the operating contract, which will be capacity, timeline, what royalties will be paid. Clearly, we have a good idea of what has been in place in Chile in the past with Albemarle, SQM (NYSE:SQM), and Codelco's salar. So, we expect that process to start post-August.
Proactive: In the meantime, what progress are you making at Laguna Verde? Steve, what's happening on the ground?
Steve Kesler: Yeah, well, we continue to work as fast as we possibly can with our pre-feasibility study on Laguna Verde. We've signaled that that will be complete towards the end of this year. We have Worley engaged. We have designers for the DLE plant. Part of that process will be looking at all the infrastructure requirements and coming up with the CapEx, OpEx, and the economic value of the project towards the end of the year. We already demonstrated that the DLE part of the project works very well indeed. We make good quality lithium chloride eluate. We've explained that we have engaged Conductive Energy with the downstream processing plant in Chicago. We've shipped eluate to them. It's arrived in Chicago, so during the course of the next month, they will be processing that eluate and start making battery-grade lithium carbonate. So, we can then start introducing that material to potential off-takers and strategic partners. We can say, look, anybody who doubts DLE works well with our particular brine, come and look here. We've got the pilot plant up and running. You can see us processing brine, making eluate, and then making battery-grade lithium carbonate from it.
Steve Kesler: So, that's going well. We carry on working with our other consultants, Montgomery and Associates, to finalize and update the resources and the maiden reserves, which will feed into the pre-feasibility study. Part of that work will also include additional pumping tests and reinjection tests when the winter snow clears in September. So, in parallel with the salar application, the project progress continues to advance as rapidly as it can.