Century Lithium (LCE.V) has confirmed its pilot plant was able to produce battery grade lithium carbonate using the clay-hosted mineralization from its Angel Island property (formerly known as the Clayton Valley project) in Nevada. Until recently, the company mainly focused on producing a lithium chloride solution but will now switch gears and focus on lithium carbonate as its main product. As part of the test work, a second batch of two 40 liter lots of concentrated lithium solution was run through the carbonate production stage resulting in about 4 kilograms of lithium carbonate recovered from each 40 liter lot. Meanwhile, the level of impurities were reduced.
These steps were/are necessary for the company to try to make the project more appealing. The pre-feasibility study published before the summer was pretty weak with an anticipated after-tax IRR of just 17.1%, using $24,000/t as base case LCE price. Sure, as it’s a US-based project there may be subsidies, grants and project financing available from the government, but that’s not a guarantee.
Disclosure: The author has a long position in Century Lithium. Please read the disclaimer.
