Century Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:LCE, OTCQX:CYDVF) announced that it has submitted a Mine Plan of Operations and Nevada Reclamation Permit Application for its 100%-owned Angel Island Lithium Project in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
The company submitted the plan on September 3 to the US Bureau of Land Management’s Battle Mountain District, Tonopah Field Office. The Mine Plan of Operations is the proposed action for the project and will form the basis for the BLM’s environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“The submission of the Mine Plan of Operations for Angel Island is a substantial milestone for Century Lithium,” CEO Bill Willoughby said.
“It defines the Project the BLM will analyze, starts the clock on the environmental review, and reflects multiple years of baseline data collection, engineering, and coordination with the agencies. With the PoO completed, our focus turns to supporting the BLM and the third-party NEPA contractor toward a final Project approval through a Record of Decision.”
The plan, submitted by Century Lithium subsidiary Cypress Holdings (Nevada) Ltd., outlines the proposed mine, processing plant, supporting infrastructure and reclamation activities.
Angel Island covers 5,379 acres of BLM-administered public land held under federal mining claims. The project is located in Clayton Valley, about six miles east of Silver Peak and 41 road miles southwest of Tonopah. The proposed operation would involve approximately 2,364 acres of disturbance.
The proposed mine would use six pit phases to extract lithium-bearing claystones from a shallow surface operation. The company expects minimal overburden and a low strip ratio, with no drilling or blasting anticipated. Ore would instead be ripped, loaded and transported to the processing facility.
Century Lithium is proposing a two-phase development. Initial production is expected to be approximately 8,300 tons per day during the first four years, increasing to as much as 16,500 tons per day from years five through 40.
The processing operation would use agitated tank leaching, solid/liquid separation, direct lithium extraction and crystallization to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate. The company plans to operate the processing circuit as a closed-loop system using recycled water.
A chlor-alkali plant would produce hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide for use in the processing operation. Century Lithium plans to sell surplus sodium hydroxide into the open market.
Supporting infrastructure outlined in the plan includes two waste rock storage facilities, two low-grade ore stockpiles, a dry-stack tailings storage facility, vehicle roads, and warehouse, office, shop and laboratory facilities.
The project would require an estimated 53 megawatts of grid power during Phase 1 and 106 MW during Phase 2. Century Lithium's preferred power connection would tie into the new Esmeralda substation on NV Energy's Greenlink West corridor.
Process make-up water is expected to come from the company's existing water rights through a well approximately 11 miles south of the project. Water would be transported to the site through a buried 12-inch pipeline on BLM land. The company noted that biological and cultural baseline surveys for the pipeline route have been completed.
Century Lithium anticipates an operating workforce of approximately 275 full-time employees, with construction employment peaking at about 450 workers.
Angel Island has Transparency Project status under the federal FAST-41 program, with the BLM serving as the lead agency. The federal Permitting Dashboard currently estimates completion of environmental review and permitting by February 4, 2028, although the company noted that the schedule may change as the review progresses.
The BLM is expected to conduct a 30-day review of the Mine Plan of Operations for completeness and adequacy. Once the plan is deemed complete, a third-party NEPA contractor will undertake environmental analysis and prepare supplemental reports to support the NEPA process.
The company's current schedule anticipates publication of a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register and the start of public scoping in the second quarter of 2027. A Notice of Availability for the Environmental Impact Statement, Record of Decision and Mine Plan of Operations is anticipated in the first quarter of 2028.
Century Lithium is also continuing state and local permitting work in Nevada, including preparation of a Water Pollution Control Permit application. The company is continuing metallurgical testing for the Angel Island processing flowsheet and work on supporting infrastructure, including power and water delivery.
