CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL) said it started its direct lithium extraction (DLE) processing work with China’s SunResin New Materials Co. Ltd, a world leader in delivering commercial scale DLE plants.
Bulk samples of brine collected from the sub-surface aquifers of Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin, Cleantech’s lithium projects in Chile, have been dispatched to SunResin´s facilities in China, said the AIM-traded company.
SunResin, under a previously announced agreement, will undertake trials on the brine to provide key data to be used in feasibility studies. Previous trials on surface brines from both projects produced positive results, CleanTech said.
READ: CleanTech Lithium signs deal with China’s SunResin to develop projects in Chile
CleanTech said it expects to start a pre-feasibility study on Laguna Verde in the current quarter.
In addition, CleanTech has ordered a small scale DLE demonstration unit from SunResin, which it expects will arrive in Chile in about two weeks.
CleanTech said it received a “highly attractive” proposal from SunResin for the DLE unit for a pilot plant which intends to produce 1 tonne per month of battery grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, targeted to start in the first half of 2023.
The pilot plant is intended to replicate commercial scale production and provide sufficient volumes of product for testing by potential customers such as major lithium-ion battery producers and automakers.