Pan Asia Metals has secured the services of top lithium processing experts in a massive step toward becoming a downstream lithium chemical producer at its Reung Kiet lithium project in Thailand.

Pan Asia’s (ASX:PAM) Reung Kiet is poised to be South East Asia’s number one lithium project covering each end of the lithium supply chain from mining through to the production of battery chemicals like lithium hydroxide and carbonate.

Giving the project a major boost is Lithium Consultants Australia and its principal Grant Harman who have come on board to act as PAM’s metallurgical and chemical engineering advisor.

LCA will be PAM’s representative tasked with designing and overseeing test work for the extraction of lithium from Reung Kiet’s concentrate to produce battery chemicals.

It comes on top of the news Dr Evan Kirby from Metallurgical Management Services will steer PAM’s lepidolite concentrate testwork at the BGRIMM Machinery and Automation Technology Co. facilities in China.

 

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Harman brings an incredible wealth of knowledge to the Reung Kiet project, instilling serious confidence PAM is on track as a lithium chemical producer and can capture the value uplift from moving up the supply chain.

LCA will undertake test work on the concentrate produced with the help of MMS to develop a processing route to develop battery grade lithium chemicals.

It will also be involved in flowsheet design and development, help select PAM’s engineering consultants and assist with costing to be incorporated into the eventual RKLP feasibility study.

Harman has worked on some of the biggest lithium processing developments outside China, beginning with Talison Lithium at the Greenbushes mine in WA in 2010.

He has also worked with Korean giant POSCO on its PosLX 2500tpa demonstration plant in South Korea and is engaged in basic design of the commercial PosLX plant, and Wesfarmers and SQM’s 40,000tpa Covalent lithium hydroxide refinery feasibility study.

On top of that he was a member of Rio Tinto’s independent process review board overseeing engineering and test work on its US$2.4 billion Jadar project in Serbia and is responsible for the development of lithium carbonate and hydroxide flowsheets for European Metals’ Cinovec Lithium project in Czechia.

“We are very pleased to have MMS and LCA in PAM’s court. In parallel to the start of PAM’s beneficiation test work with BGRIMM, we have also completed preliminary studies of the available process flowsheets which are relevant to lepidolite, with processing test work to commence upon production of lithium concentrates at BGRIMM’s laboratories,” PAM managing director Paul Lock said.

“In selecting the process route PAM wants to achieve a balance between capital/operating economics, environment and community, and process risk/complexity.”

Beneficiation test work is already under way with PAM planning to update the market once the results are available.

It is not the only major update to come at Reung Kiet, with a landmark mineral resource expected to be delivered early this year.

This article was developed in collaboration with Pan Asia Metals, 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.

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