Utilising Pure Energy’s Clayton Valley Lithium Brine Project
Pure Energy Minerals Ltd (TSXV: PE) reports that its partner, Schlumberger New Energy has achieved a significant milestone at Pure Energy’s 100% held Clayton Valley (CV) lithium brine project in Nevada.
Schlumberger New Energy has announced plans to develop a lithium extraction pilot plant through its new venture, NeoLith Energy. Construction and development of the pilot plant are planned to occur at the Clayton Valley project.
Schlumberger New Energy said the NeoLith Energy sustainable approach uses a differentiated direct lithium extraction process (DLE), process to enable the production of high-purity, battery-grade lithium material while reducing the production time from over a year to weeks.
“This innovative process can create new market opportunities for lithium extraction and battery manufacturing economy and maximise the value of the lithium-rich resource base in Nevada with cutting edge extraction technology.
“The demand for battery-grade lithium is projected to grow exponentially, driven by growth in the electric vehicles (EV) market. As EVs greatly depend on Li-ion rechargeable batteries, sustainable and efficient lithium production has become an important topic for regions, industries, and technology companies, as well as battery and large automotive manufacturers. NeoLith Energy’s pilot plant is a step towards a full-scale, commercial lithium production facility.
“The pilot plant results will be used to optimise the design of the full-scale production plant. The production plant will utilise an environmentally friendly method for subsurface brine extraction and lithium production that requires a significantly smaller footprint and reduces water consumption by over 85% compared to current methods for lithium extraction from brine.
“Nevada lithium resources present an excellent opportunity to demonstrate a leap in production efficiency with a more sustainable approach,” said Ashok Belani, Schlumberger New Energy executive vice president.
“Schlumberger’s expertise in the subsurface domain, development of process technology, and global deployment of technology at scale with various partners all play an important role in the innovation and efficiency of our DLE process. We are accelerating the deployment of our pilot plant in response to the high market demand for battery-grade lithium material.”
The pilot plant’s implementation is part of Pure Energy’s agreement with Schlumberger New Energy for the development of its Clayton Valley lithium brine property, using advanced technology to process the brine to extract high-purity lithium products, and maximise the lithium resource recovery. Commissioning of the pilot plant will begin following receipt of all necessary permits. NeoLith Energy intends to begin operations before the end of 2021.
Schlumberger New Energy has invested more than USD15M in this DLE process technology, and the development and operation of the pilot plant in Nevada will require a similar amount of investment. The innovative and sustainable DLE process has the potential to disrupt the lithium economy by opening new opportunities to existing production regions, and to enable new lithium production regions across the globe to meet the growing demand.”
