lithium brine at nazareKind of interesting that GM has but 50 million into a start-up EnergyX that is trying to use a new technique to extract lithium from brine.
EnergyX's direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology portfolio can make lithium metal directly from brine and potentially in anode-ready form for EV batteries, which enables more cost-effective and sustainable lithium recovery to unlock a vast lithium supply chain in North America that may otherwise be unviable.
So far no one has done that successfully on commercial scale. EnergyX is even goiing to try their stuff at Salton Sea where a brine operation was pauded after a $500 million investment by a Beffett company.
Success of any small resource play depends on size of resource, location of resource and ready access to capital. RHC seems to have first two in helium space, as long as Nazare horizontal performs as predicted by university of Regina computer modelling. Ready access to capital not so much. And a bit of a leap in applying a unique innovative technology for extraction.
Thye may have a large resource in lithium brine as well, and maybe someone else can take a whack at it. They would need massive capital investment (way beyond RHC anyway) to get anything going. But it is obvious that a number of companies including EnergyX are trying to crack the technolgy nut to provide lithium from a brine source,