Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN) has had the engineering design of its brine pre-treatment and lithium carbonation processes completed by Hatch Engineering as part of Anson’s planned industrial-scale in-field pilot plant.
Lilac Solutions has also nearly completed design and construction of the pilot plant’s lithium extraction processes, with Anson having assessed Hazen Research’s work on incorporating the extraction of other chemical products in the pilot plant flowsheet.
This has enabled the company to update its pilot plant flowsheet, which is presented below:
Brine pre-treatment processes
Anson shortlisted suppliers for the pilot plant's pre-treatment sections after Hazen completed test work on methods to extract additional chemical products from brine.
Lithium extraction by ion exchange
Lilac Solutions is expected to complete the lithium extraction sysstem’s design and construction in quarter-two, using ion exchange with no upstream nanofiltration, evaporation ponds or other concentrating processes.
The pilot-scale lithium extraction system will require minimal water and energy inputs, using a wastewater reverse osmosis mini-plant and simple gas-powered electricity generators.
READ: Anson Resources confirms “exceptionally high” brine flow rates at Paradox project
Lilac has also begun designing a commercial-scale ion exchange extraction system which will be demonstrated on-site as part of the pilot project.
This will de-risk the ion exchange technology process block of the Anson flowsheet and demonstrate a clear pathway to commercial production.