Mineral Resources (MinRes) and Lithium Australia have established a new partnership in an attempt to increase lithium extraction yields, including development of a pilot plant.
Lithium Australia will contribute its LieNA® technology to the project – which has the potential to enhance lithium extraction yields by up to 50 per cent over the current market performance – and oversee the production process of the pilot plant.
MinRes will solely fund the operation and development of a pilot plant and will also front an engineering study and demonstration plant up to the total budgeted cost of $4.5 million as well as supplying the required raw minerals to support the extraction process.
Lithium Australia CEO, Simon Linge, said that the company is thrilled by the new formation of the partnership with MinRes.
“MinRes is the perfect partner to complement our leading lithium extraction technology, given its extensive owned operations and strategic movement downstream into the battery materials sector.”
“Securing a development partner is also noted as a significant step within Lithium Australia’s recently released roadmap and serves as a powerful validation of our patented technology. We are excited by the future opportunity to licence our proven high value technology to all existing and new lithium mines across Australia and the rest of the world,” Mr Linge said.
Subject to the results of the pilot plant, if successful, both companies will form a 50:50 joint venture (JV), which will allow both MinRes and Lithium Australia to own and commercialise the LieNA technology through a licensing model.
The JV initially plans to licence the LieNA technology to a larger demonstration plant which MinRes can elect to independently fund, develop and operate.
The aim of the larger plant would likely include the extraction of lithium salt at a commercial scale under the licence, which will apply to both current and future MinRes projects, based on a targeted headline gross product royalty rate of eight per cent, with a first mover discount applied.
