Lithium Australia NL (ASX:LIT) has appointed resources industry specialist Mark Strizek as manager of Raw Materials to enhance its integrated battery materials strategy.
Strizek has a background of more than 20 years in the resources industry and brings a wealth of experience in technology metals to the company.
This is specifically in whole of cycle; exploration, resource development, feasibility, finance and development-ready assets in Australia, Africa and Europe.
READ: Lithium Australia continues to close the loop on the battery metals economy
In the new role, Strizek will be responsible for the company’s global exploration portfolio, identification of new resource opportunities and sourcing raw material inputs for the development of future Sileach® and LieNA® operations.
Sileach is a proprietary acid digestion process for the extraction of lithium and valuable by-products from lithium micas.
Those micas are commonly associated with tin and tantalum and are often waste products from the production of spodumene concentrate.
READ: Lithium Australia to follow-up previous discovery at Youanmi
LieNA is a proprietary alkaline digestion process for the recovery of lithium from fine spodumene.
The application of LieNA provides the potential to improve resource utilisation and sustainability of the battery industry.
LIT has amassed a portfolio of projects and alliances and developed innovative extraction processes to convert all lithium silicates (including mine waste) to lithium chemicals.
From these chemicals, the company plans to produce advanced components for the lithium-ion battery industry.
The final step for Lithium Australia involves the recycling of spent batteries and e-waste.