LithiumBank Resources (LBNK.V), a Calgary, Alberta-based mineral explorer focused on lithium-enriched brine projects in Western Canada, released results from the Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) test work from the wholly owned Boardwalk Lithium Brine Project in Alberta.
Results show the selected DLE technology to be highly effective and scalable for the extraction of lithium chloride from the Boardwalk brine.
During testing, the company achieved 93% lithium chloride recovery in under 60 minutes of extraction processing, producing a lithium concentrate with a range between 35-60 times grade increase over the initial raw lithium brine concentration level.
High purity lithium concentrates between 2,500 and 4,000 mg/L were achieved at the end of the DLE process.
These results will be incorporated into LithiumBank’s upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) that will detail the project and estimate costs of engineering and design of a commercial-scale lithium processing facility at Boardwalk.
LithiumBank has contracted Conductive Energy to test their proprietary DLE technology using brine collected from the Leduc Formation at the Boardwalk project. Conductive has proprietary Ion Exchange (IX) material, also known as bead or resin, that LithiumBank has tested to selectively recover lithium from the company’s Boardwalk brine.
Conductive’s IX materials are safer than other commonly known materials, such as manganese-based sieves, and is produced in Conductive’s own manufacturing facility in North America.
LithiumBank’s DLE test work at Boardwalk was to determine the optimum parameters to achieve the highest level of lithium recovery in the shortest time while using the least amount of IX material.
Kevin Piepgrass, LithiumBank COO, commented, “We put Conductive’s DLE technology through a very comprehensive test program and their proprietary ion-exchange material has proven to be very effective in extracting lithium from our Boardwalk brine. The collaboration of Hatch and Conductive Energy Inc. has resulted in high-quality data set that can confidently be used in the processing design and engineering of a commercial scale lithium processing facility. This will be instrumental for delivering a robust PEA of the Boardwalk Lithium Brine Project. As part of LithiumBank’s long-term strategy, the Company continues to build a strong technical foundation in lithium brine development that is expected to benefit Boardwalk as well as the Company’s 100 percent owned Park Place and Kindersley Projects.”
The Boardwalk Leduc Formation Li-brine inferred resource as of May 18, 2021, is globally estimated at 1.12 million tonnes of elemental Li at an average lithium concentration of 67.1 mg/L Li in 16.7 km3 of formation brine volume. The global total lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) for the inferred mineral resource is 5.97 tonnes LCE at an average grade of 67.1 mg/L Li (as reported May 31, 2022).
LithiumBank currently holds over four million acres of mineral titles, 3.68 million acres in Alberta and 326,000 acres in Saskatchewan.
The company currently trades at $0.90 CAD per share for a market cap of $33.36 million.
