Anson has a cheer after its Green River DLE pilot delivers strong lithium recovery and contaminant rejection rates. Pic: Getty Images
‘Exceptional’ 98% lithium recovery at Anson’s Green River DLE pilot
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- Anson Resources’ DLE pilot achieves average lithium recovery rate of 98% along with >99% rejection of contaminants
- High ratio of lithium to dissolved solids expected to reduce cost of lithium carbonate processing
- Enough data generated to deliver process guarantees for a 10,000tpa production plant
Special Report: Anson Resources has underscored the potential of direct lithium extraction technology after its Green River pilot in Utah achieved average recovery of 98% with >99% average rejection of contaminants.
The pilot program with KOCH Technology Solutions delivered all technical requirements, producing high concentration and high purity lithium chloride eluate at the onsite DLE plant using freshly extracted lithium-rich brine from the Bosydaba #1 well.
While the 98% average lithium recovery is a finger licking good result for Anson Resources (ASX:ASN), the high rejection rate of key impurities is every bit as good.
Rejecting more than 99% of impurities such as sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium results in a lithium chloride solution that can be more efficiently converted into 99.5% purity lithium carbonate for use in electric vehicle batteries.
This translates to low purification costs, which adds to the lower costs associated with less evaporation during the EV battery-grade purification process.
Successful operation
During the seven months of operation, the Green River DLE pilot plant generated about 43,500 gallons (165,000l) of lithium chloride that meets or exceeds the specifications required by downstream processors.
Notably, the KTS DLE plant achieved a lithium-to-dissolved solids ratio (Li:TDS) of up to 0.129 with an average of 0.126, 57% higher than the Li:TDS of 0.08 considered suitable for downstream processing.
This could lower the costs of the lithium purification process step as a higher ratio equates to less water to be removed prior to lithium carbonate precipitation, which in turn reduces the amount of energy required to convert the volume of eluate and increase the concentration of lithium prior to carbonation.
The pilot program also allowed ASN and KTS to fine-tune the process control steps, identifying the optimal balance for lithium recovery, impurity removal, water usage and lithium concentration under various climate conditions, including temperatures below freezing.
KTS has also indicated there is enough data to include process guarantees – a key requirement in securing debt funding – for a 10,000tpa production plant using its Li-Pro DLE technology.
This ‘Technical Annex’ is expected to be completed in a few months.
The pilot produced sufficient lithium chloride for downstream testwork and final product trials.
Industry leading result
“These results from the KTS DLE pilot program are exceptional,” ASN executive chairman Bruce Richardson said.
“The Li:TDS ratio is industry-leading and will make a significant contribution to the financial success of the Green River lithium project as will the very high rates of impurity rejection.
“Testing of the DLE process is essential to reduce commercial production risks and assists in financing a project.
“Anson has conducted several DLE test work programs, at different times of the year and the KTS results are a standout, not only technically but also from a cost perspective.
“Anson will continue to focus on these two aspects during the development of the Green River lithium project to maximize investor and shareholder returns.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Anson Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
