Neometals (ASX:NMT) has received more positive test results, this time in relation to its lithium and potassium extraction from brine processing technology.
Test work on its titanium‐based adsorbent shows the potential to deliver a more cost effective and environmentally friendly method of extracting lithium and potassium from sodium rich brines as compared to traditional solar evaporation.
Results show Neometals’ adsorbent technology is able to successfully recover lithium and potassium from salar brines while rejecting all of the sodium in solution.
Chris Reed, managing director, commented: “Proving this scalability of this technology will have significant implications for brine‐based producers and developers, who hold 75% of the world’s lithium resources.
“Increasing the speed and yield of lithium extraction from brines and reducing operating and capital costs are the keys to unlocking supply needed to meet the lithium demands of the next decade.”
Neometals extraction technology
The conventional solar evaporation phase requires significant capital expenditure to construct a series of large evaporation ponds, significant maintenance of the operating ponds to harvest and store salt and has a circa12 month processing period.
Water in the brine that has been extracted from aquifers and salars is lost to the atmosphere through evaporation.
In comparison, Neometals’ proof-of-concept test results indicate that lithium and potassium adsorption, and rejection of sodium, could be conducted using conventional process equipment with residence times of less than 30 minutes.
Returning nearly all of the brine volume to the salar allows exploitation of salar aquifers with anticipated minimal impact on the water table.
Neometals is also evaluating other technologies that can be coupled with the adsorption technology to improve the conceptual flow-sheet.
Next steps
Neometals y has filed a provisional patent and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application.
Its strategy is to develop related technologies and commercialise the technologies with suitable partners.
The commercial strategy is licence the technology for royalties and to retain the right to deploy it as principal.
Neometals will keep the market updated on all material developments with commercialisation partners.