Proving the profitability of this model, VLT has already signed a cooperation agreement with Alberta-based oil and gas producer Cabot Energy and is on track to make bigger deals with more sizable oil companies south of the border where lithium grades may be much higher.
While oilfield lithium brine is often at low concentrations, VLT has developed the technology to profitably extract it having already completed a successful pilot project with a preliminary economic assessment underway.
Furthermore, in targeting reservoirs with existing infrastructure production, VLT is expediting the success of the economics of the process and speeding up the commercialization process
Direct Lithium Extraction
VLT's proprietary and proven next-generation DLE technology comprises a three-stage process to extract lithium from oilfield brine, using proven equipment and an established process to treat and purify the brine.
Notably, VLT achieved the successful production of battery-grade lithium carbonate at its permanent demonstration plant in Calgary.
As the process is able to successfully remove 99% of impurities from the brine before processing and achieve a 98% lithium extraction rate, VLT can cost-effectively generate a high-quality eluate of 90% lithium carbonate, a product that can be sold to existing third-party refiners for further processing into a 99.5% battery grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide.
Showcasing its ability to transform oilfield brine into a commercially salable grade of lithium carbonate, VLT brings the full-cycle process in-house which greatly reduces the cost to produce lithium carbonate while enhancing margins and positioning VLT as a low-cost operator.
Furthermore, as a result of its continual DLE technology process improvements, VLT achieved a 64% reduction in full-cycle DLE operating costs to process brine from its Rainbow Lake Project.
Building on the company's past success in streamlining the DLE process and driving costs down to support robust margins even with a volatile price environment for lithium, VLT's potential is bolstered by this, marking a significant milestone in the commercialization of its DLE tech.
Regarding this milestone, VLT President & CEO, Alex Wylie, commented:
“The Volt engineering and technical teams continue to improve operational processes for our proprietary DLE technology that we believe will truly drive commercial success for the Company. As demand for high-quality lithium continues to grow, Volt’s latest achievement positions us to help meet the world’s expanding need for this critical mineral, and to do so in an environmentally sustainable and lower-impact manner.”
Rainbow Lake Lithium Project
Notably, VLT's Rainbow Lake Lithium project in Alberta has a post-tax NPV of US$1.1B where the company expects to ramp production up from 1,000 to over 23,000 metric tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide per year over a 19-year period.
Maud concludes that a breakout is imminent now that the Wedge is closing up, making the setup very bullish amid VLT being at a favourable entry point, thus rating the company an "Immediate Strong Buy" for all timeframes.
Posted on behalf of Volt Lithium Corp.