CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, Frankfurt:T2N, OTCQX:CTLHF), an exploration and improvement firm advancing sustainable lithium tasks in Chile for the clear power transition, is happy to announce its unaudited Interim Outcomes for the six-month interval ended 30 June 2024 (“1H 2024” or “the Interval”).
The Firm has made vital progress with the Pre-Feasibility Research (“PFS”) on the flagship undertaking, Laguna Verde, and seen encouraging outcomes from the Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) pilot plant in Chile and can be producing battery-grade lithium carbonate for potential strategic companions to judge. The Firm can also be pursuing a twin itemizing on the Australian Inventory Trade (“ASX”) and goals to be buying and selling on the ASX in This autumn 2024.
Highlights of the Interval:
Operational:
· Well being & Security:
o Zero-harm security tradition targeted on steady enchancment to realize an damage free and wholesome work setting – no LTIs, main incidents or close to misses recorded in 1H 2024.
· Laguna Verde Drilling Programme:
o 5-well useful resource drilling programme commenced. Work designed in collaboration with Montgomery & Associates, a number one hydrogeology and useful resource analysis consultancy.
o Programme goals to provide a maiden reserves estimate utilizing modifying components from the Pre-Feasibility Research (“PFS”) which is underway and focused for completion by the top of 2024.
· DLE Pilot Plant:
o Operational and producing prime quality lithium chloride eluate with low impurities.
o Eluate is being transformed to provide batches of battery-grade lithium carbonate which can be made out there to potential strategic companions in This autumn 2024 to begin product qualification.
o Inauguration occasion was held in Might 2024 the place native communities and authorities officers have been in attendance.
· Challenge Licences:
o CTL entered right into a sale and buy settlement (“SPA”), now taking full possession of sure Laguna Verde licences that have been beforehand held by the use of an possibility settlement
o The licences held within the Salar de Atacama basin, which we perceive are positioned outdoors the salar space outlined as strategic by the Authorities and have been re-named the ‘Arenas Blancas’ undertaking, are a probably very promising alternative.
· CEOL Contracts:
o Expressions of Curiosity (“RFIs”) for a complete of 5 lithium tasks have been submitted to the Chilean Authorities. CTL may be very properly positioned as probably the most superior exploration stage firm progressing DLE primarily based tasks in Chile.
o Francisco Basin undertaking has been renamed Viento Andino, consistent with the RFI submission, to spotlight the undertaking space is outdoors a nationwide park of an analogous identify positioned within the basin.
Company:
· Board modifications:
o Govt Chairman Steve Kesler assumed the duties of CEO on an interim foundation, following the resignation of CEO, Aldo Boitano in April.
o The seek for a brand new CEO is properly underway and the chosen candidate can be introduced sooner or later.
· Money place:
o The Firm’s money place on the interval finish, together with proceeds obtained from Mortgage Notes shortly after interval finish, was £2.1 million.
Submit-period Highlights:
Operational:
o Pump assessments and a reinjection properly at Laguna Verde, deliberate to be undertaken in This autumn 2024, will assist outline the brine extraction and reinjection wellfield design and the sustainable manufacturing fee required for the PFS.
o A plant location research was accomplished by Worley for the Laguna Verde undertaking and concluded that the DLE and eluate focus needs to be undertaken at undertaking website and the purification and carbonation near Copiapo which is at a decrease elevation with good technical assist regionally out there. This latter plant could be expanded sooner or later to additionally course of concentrated eluate from the Viento Andino undertaking.
o Completion of the primary stage of manufacturing of concentrated eluate from the Firm´s DLE pilot plant which has been shipped for conversion to battery-grade lithium carbonate by course of companions in North America.
Company:
· ASX Itemizing:
o The Firm is looking for to dual-list on the Australian Securities Trade (“ASX”). Though the Firm introduced an extension to the ASX IPO timetable on 20 September 2024, to permit it to handle some procedural issues raised by ASX, the intention stays to finish the IPO earlier than the 12 months finish. An related capital elevate is deliberate to allow completion of the PFS and continuance of different work programmes. However, the Firm continues to contemplate its funding choices on an ongoing foundation as part of its regular observe.
· CEOL Course of:
o The Authorities has streamlined the CEOL course of, asserting an replace on the finish of September prioritising six salt flats for lithium improvement together with Laguna Verde, the Firm’s flagship undertaking, as having probably the most beneficial situations to advance lithium exploration and extraction. CEOL functions to be submitted by 31st December 2024.
· Native stakeholders:
o CTL attended a seminar organised by CESCO alongside native indigenous communities. The President of the Colla Pai-Ote group publicly endorsed CTL’s Laguna Verde undertaking as the best way ahead for the lithium trade in Chile, which was extensively reported within the Chilean media.
o CTL’s DLE carousel tools is now put in on the College of Atacama as a part of an ongoing partnership. The DLE tools can be out there for analysis programmes. The long-term collaboration between the College and CTL will assist nurture the abilities required for fostering the lithium trade within the Atacama area.
Steve Kesler, Govt Chairman and Interim CEO, CleanTech Lithium stated:
“The primary half of 2024 has seen vital operational and strategic progress on our lithium tasks in Chile. This consists of the manufacturing of top of the range lithium chloride eluate with low impurities from our DLE pilot plant, which has a capability to provide one tonne per thirty days of lithium carbonate equal. A drilling, pump testing and reinjection programme was began at Laguna Verde aimed toward updating the JORC useful resource estimate, offering information for the PFS and creating of a maiden reserve estimate.
“The Firm can also be within the strategy of itemizing on the ASX trade, which is able to assist its future improvement, because it enters potential strategic associate discussions and progresses in direction of manufacturing. While this course of has been delayed, the ASX market is properly versed within the lithium sector and a significant variety of the Firm’s current shareholders have Australian hyperlinks.
“With the PFS properly underway and undertaking improvement ongoing, backed by the robust assist from native indigenous communities and aligned with the targets of Authorities’s Nationwide Lithium Technique, we look ahead to the longer term with confidence.”
CHAIRMAN AND INTERIM CEO REVIEW
The next evaluate is a glance again on the highlights from the primary half of 2024:
Enterprise Technique
CleanTech Lithium continues to make nice strides in assembly the target of turning into a number one provider of battery-grade lithium carbonate to assist the world’s transition to scrub power. The progress made in direction of constructing sustainable lithium tasks in Chile the place the Firm is planning to make use of Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) powered by renewable power instantly addresses the Chilean Authorities’s ambition to drive optimistic change in sustainability and social and financial improvement.
The ‘Nationwide Lithium Technique’, proposed by the President of Chile in late April 2023, goals to make sure Chile stays a high producer and provider of lithium – a crucial element for batteries in Electrical Autos and power storage methods (“ESS”). The established mining jurisdiction is presently the biggest provider of copper on the earth and one of many largest suppliers of battery grade lithium. To maneuver to a world run on clear power, new lithium tasks are wanted, and Chile has the established infrastructure, trade experience and workforce to convey tasks like CleanTech Lithium’s into manufacturing within the subsequent few years.
New tasks have to be in-built the correct means and the Authorities has prescribed the usage of DLE (or related sustainable applied sciences) for all new lithium improvement tasks going ahead. CleanTech Lithium’s technique is to play a big position in helping the Chilean authorities to realize this ambition. The Firm believes it’s most the superior improvement stage DLE firm working in Chile and the achievements made within the first half of 2024 is proof of this. It is vitally encouraging to see the Firm’s DLE Pilot Plant producing samples of battery-grade lithium carbonate which is able to quickly be examined by potential strategic companions.
The Firm’s enterprise technique is targeted on delivering long-term sustainable development and returns for all stakeholders, constructed on 4 pillars:
· develop the Firm’s superior lithium tasks (Laguna Verde, Viento Andino) and progress the early-stage exploration tasks (Arenas Blancas and Llamara) in Chile;
· utilise modern applied sciences, together with DLE and, the place potential, renewable power to sustainably produce lithium carbonate;
· produce business battery-grade lithium carbonate with excessive lithium recoveries and brief manufacturing time; and
· provide instantly into the EV and battery storage market by way of strategic companions and offtake agreements.
To this finish, the Firm’s fast targets are as follows:
· replace the JORC useful resource estimate for Laguna Verde on completion of the 2024 drilling campaigns and declare a maiden reserves estimate;
· full deliberate hydrogeological research and metallurgical assessments at Laguna Verde, together with finishing a brand new reinjection properly and pump assessments to offer the info required to additional advance modelling of the sub-surface aquifer and design the extraction and reinjection wellfields;
· ship a Pre-Feasibility Research (“PFS”) on the Laguna Verde Challenge and start the Definitive Feasibility Research (“DFS”) quickly afterwards;
· full the method take a look at work on the DLE Pilot Plant and make battery grade lithium carbonate out there for provide to potential offtake and strategic companions to begin product qualification;
· proceed the required work to finish the environmental baseline research that commenced in 2022 and undertake the research required to allow submission of the EIA in 1H 2025;
· enter right into a Particular Lithium Operation Contract (CEOL) with the Chilean State in relation to the Laguna Verde and Viento Andino Tasks to commercially promote lithium;
· proceed to collaborate with the native indigenous communities, universities and different native stakeholders to make sure long-term assist for the tasks, and
· enter into substantive discussions with potential offtake and strategic companions with a view to reaching settlement on a future enterprise relationship, together with establishing a funding bundle for the development phases of the Laguna Verde Challenge, together with fairness participation, debt and different constructions, to convey the undertaking on stream and begin promoting lithium carbonate on the earliest potential alternative.
Abstract of Firm Exercise
Within the first six months of the 12 months, CleanTech Lithium made additional progress towards delivering its PFS. This included commencing a five-well drilling programme at Laguna Verde, the commissioning of its DLE pilot plant and first manufacturing of extremely concentrated eluate for additional processing to make battery-grade lithium carbonate. The PFS is instrumental to assist discussions with potential strategic companions. The Firm can also be looking for to dual-list on the Australian Securities Trade (“ASX”). Though the Firm introduced an extension to the ASX IPO timetable on 20 September 2024, to permit it to handle some procedural issues raised by ASX, the intention stays to finish the IPO earlier than the 12 months finish. However, the Firm continues to contemplate its funding choices on an ongoing foundation as part of its regular observe.
Operations
Well being and Security
The Firm maintains a zero-harm security tradition targeted on steady enchancment to realize an damage free and wholesome work setting, with no misplaced time incidents (“LTIs”), main incidents, or close to misses reported within the first half of 2024.
5-Properly Drilling Programme at Laguna Verde
The Firm commenced a 5 properly drilling programme at Laguna Verde largely aimed toward changing Inferred useful resource to extra Measured & Indicated useful resource which is able to then have technical and financial modifying components utilized from the PFS to find out a maiden reserve. The programme was designed in collaboration with Montgomery & Associates, a number one worldwide hydrogeology and useful resource analysis consultancy.
The drill programme started in Q1 2024, with the graduation of wells LV07 and LV11 and suspended in Might on the onset of the winter shut-down interval, with the plan to recommence in October. The programme may also embody extra pump testing and reinjection testing in This autumn 2024 with outcomes serving to to calibrate the hydrogeological mannequin of the basin. This mannequin will assist additional outline the brine extraction and reinjection wellfield design and the sustainable manufacturing fee from Laguna Verde. Montgomery & Associates have been engaged to handle the drill programme, JORC useful resource and reserves reporting and design of the extraction and reinjection wellfields.
Laguna Verde is the Firm’s most superior undertaking and has a complete JORC useful resource of 1.8 million tonnes LCE, of which 1.1 million is within the Measured and Indicated class. Laguna Verde’s Scoping Research, introduced in January 2023, highlighted strong economics, with an NPV8 of US$1.8bn, an IRR of 45.1%, internet cashflows of US$6.3 billion and a low working prices of US$3,875/t for 30 years of manufacturing at 20,000 tpa LCE.
Drilling programmes at Laguna Verde since 2022
DLE Pilot Plant Commissioning and Manufacturing
The Firm´s one-tonne per thirty days DLE pilot plant (equipped by Sunresin) is positioned in Copiapó, Chile, roughly 250km from Laguna Verde, and completed commissioning in late March. On the R&D centre the place the pilot plant is positioned, brine from the Laguna Verde undertaking is saved in a big 243,000 litre vessel outdoors the pilot plant after which fed into an indoor tank having handed by filtration to take away suspended solids. It’s then fed into the DLE columns proven within the picture under, that are full of adsorbent designed to be selective for lithium molecules. Lithium, as lithium chloride, is adsorbed from the brine, earlier than desorption with water to create a purified lithium chloride eluate.
DLE Pilot Plant at R&D Centre in Copiapó, Chile (30 x approx. 3m columns to provide as much as 1 tonne per thirty days of LCE)
Testing of a variety of commercially out there adsorbents recognized that the adsorbent equipped by Lanshen carried out the perfect on the Laguna Verde brine ensuing within the number of this adsorbent. The DLE Pilot Plant commenced operation in Q2 2024, producing prime quality concentrated eluate. In Might, the Firm reported the important thing DLE efficiency metrics for the primary batch of 24m3 of concentrated eluate produced on the pilot plant. The restoration of lithium from the brine was 94% within the adsorption stage and 88% into the eluate. The lithium grade within the feed brine of 197mg/L was concentrated to 710mg/L within the eluate, or a 3.6X focus issue. These outcomes exceeded the Firm’s expectations. The eluate was additional concentrated by reverse osmosis to 2,194mg/l.
For the primary stage of manufacturing, a complete quantity of 1,196m3 of brine from the Laguna Verde Challenge was processed on the DLE pilot plant with a complete of 14 cycles accomplished. Every cycle represents a quantity of brine being fed first by filtration to take away suspended solids, then into DLE columns that are full of adsorbent designed to be selective for lithium molecules. Lithium, as lithium chloride, is adsorbed from the brine, earlier than desorption with water to create a purified lithium eluate.
Averaged throughout the 14 cycles, the restoration fee achieved by adsorption of lithium from the brine was 95% and the restoration fee of desorption from the adsorbent was 93%. The full restoration fee into eluate averaged 88% and was extremely constant as proven within the determine under. The temperature of the brine and desorption water, utilizing the common ambient temperature in Copiapó in the course of the March to June interval of operation, was within the vary of 20oC to 25oC indicating that good efficiency was achieved with out the necessity to warmth options in both adsorption or desorption.
Pilot Plant Complete Restoration Fee
The eluate manufacturing fee was comparatively steady after the preliminary ramp up interval reaching a median of two.8 kg LCE per hour demonstrating that the design capability of the pilot plant of 1 tonne LCE per thirty days was comfortably achieved. Selectivity of the adsorbent is one other key efficiency parameter for a DLE operation. DLE primarily acts as a purification stage, recovering lithium chloride from the brine while rejecting different impurities. For all the foremost ions within the brine, other than boron, the rejection fee was very excessive, exceeding 99%.
DLE Efficiency – Rejection of Main Impurities
The downstream conversion of lithium chloride resolution to battery grade lithium carbonate is properly established within the lithium trade. Fairly than spending capital on establishing a lithium carbonate conversion plant, the Firm determined to associate with Conductive Vitality, an Alberta, Canada firm to undertake this conversion at its current facility in Chicago.
An preliminary 200L batch of concentrated eluate, was shipped to Conductive Vitality in Might. This batch was used as a trial earlier than establishing the conversion course of that might be used for processing bigger volumes of eluate produced by our DLE pilot plant into battery grade lithium carbonate. Conductive Vitality accomplished the set-up test-work producing lithium carbonate of 99.75% purity which is battery grade. This course of contains focus of the concentrated eluate to 18,000mg/l Li by ahead osmosis adopted by ion trade to take away the hint impurities of calcium, magnesium and boron after which carbonation with sodium carbonate to provide battery grade lithium carbonate.
On completion of this trial, the Firm subsequently shipped batches of concentrated eluate from the pilot plant, with a complete of 88m3 shipped by late July, which is equal to roughly one tonne of lithium carbonate.
The downstream plant is being commissioned with lithium carbonate manufacturing anticipated in October 2024. This may present the Firm with the capability to produce vital portions of battery-grade lithium carbonate samples to potential strategic companions and offtakers to start product qualification.
Pilot Plant Inauguration
In Might, the DLE pilot plant was formally inaugurated in Copiapó with a ceremony attended by numerous regional authorities, indigenous group leaders, teachers, and enterprise representatives. Attendees on the ceremony included the Presidential Delegate of the Atacama Area, Luis Pino, Regional Councillor Javier Castillo; CORFO Director Rosa Roman, CORPROA President Andres Rubilar; miners’ union president Joel Carrizo; indigenous group representatives Christian Milla and Ercillia Araya.
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