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By KYLE MASSEY, Arkansas Business
EL DORADO, Arkansas (AP) – Standard Lithium Ltd., the Canadian company that plans to tap into the underground brine flow in southern Arkansas to extract battery-grade lithium, is stepping up testing at a pilot plant Crystallization in British Columbia approved a pilot extraction operation in the west of El Dorado that could be put in place by the end of February.
Standard, of Vancouver, has completed a plant to test its proprietary selective crystallization process, designed to refine battery-grade lithium from a brine solution, in partnership with Saltworks Technologies Inc. of Richmond, Colombia -British.
If successful, the pilot plant technology could be used to refine extracted extracts from southern Arkansas brine, which has been shown to contain a high concentration of lithium carbonate in salt water tests. two oil and gas wells previously drilled in southern Arkansas.
Lithium, a valuable element used in all areas, from cell phone batteries and laptops to electric car systems, could be a boon to the Arkansas economy if the publicly traded Canadian company, which s 'is associated with brine leases near El Dorado and Magnolia possibility of refining the battery grade lithium on an industrial scale.
The pilot plant prototype, which is being commissioned, will initially be operated at the Saltworks Technologies plant in Richmond. Standard Lithium General Manager Robert Mintak said the ultimate goal is to extract the lithium and then refine it, all in Arkansas.
He added that the Arkansas Oil & Gas Commission was giving his company the opportunity to prove its process by operating the pilot extraction plant with waiver.
"The goal is to prove that we can extract lithium with our selective extraction plan, and then produce battery-grade material in Arkansas," Mintak told Arkansas Business during a recent phone conversation. "The goal is to have everything in Arkansas", thanks to the pilot extraction technology put in place in the first half of 2019.
"This plant is going to be moved to Arkansas probably in late February or early March," Mintak said. "This is the pilot extraction plant. The Richmond pilot plant is a plant that converts the extracted lithium solution into a final battery material. We have developed our own lithium carbonate crystallization process and we feel process can be an improvement, but we will work with other industry partners who use crystallizers around the world. We will test our own process with others. "
Saltworks CEO and Chief Engineer Ben Sparrow said in a statement that if Standard Lithium appreciates the results seen in the pilot plant in Canada, "we are ready to quickly provide a fully continuous mobile plant and help Standard Lithium to commercialize this high-potential technology. "
Mintak cited Arkansas' regulatory framework, as well as its vast stock of mineral-dense brine, among the factors that led Standard Lithium to Arkansas.
"We met with the Oil and Gas Commission a week ago and made a presentation for a waiver," said Mintak. "There is no royalty for lithium in Arkansas yet. They allow us to prove that the extraction process works when we operate the pilot plant. Then, when we have data on this, we will start working with them on the fee. diet."
Standard Lithium is listed on the TSC Venture of Canada under the symbol SLL and on the OTCQX under the symbol STLHF. It is also traded in Europe on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Information provided by: Arkansas Business, http://www.arkansasbusiness.com
An exchange of AP members shared by Arkansas Business.
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