Volt Lithium successfully produces battery-grade lithium carbonate

The company processed oilfield brine from the Keg River formation at its Rainbow Lake, Alberta asset to produce lithium carbonate with its proprietary and proven next-generation direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology. This represents a significant milestone for Volt as the company now has the capability to process oilfield brine and then refine its eluate into lithium carbonate that meets the specifications required to produce a saleable battery grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide.

“I am thrilled to confirm that the Volt team continues to advance our DLE capabilities at our Demonstration Plant and showcased our ability to transform oilfield brine into a commercially saleable grade of lithium carbonate. Bringing the full-cycle process in-house greatly reduces the cost to produce lithium carbonate, which is expected to enhance margins and position Volt as a low-cost operator,” commented Alex Wylie, Volt’s President and CEO. “We believe oil and gas producers across North America who are keen to monetise value from their produced water can benefit from Volt’s fully self-contained, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solution to help meet the world’s growing need for lithium.”

“With Volt’s commitment to innovation and sustainability, we are excited to continue optimising our proprietary DLE technology and very proud to report increasing success in processing oilfield brine from our initial Rainbow Lake asset,” added John McEwen, PhD, Vice President R&D and Technical Services. “Having the Demonstration Plant offers a key differentiator for Volt relative to our peers, as it enables us to simulate field operations while testing brines from all over North America. Having this capability further allows the company to prove the broad utility of our DLE technology as we efficiently advance towards a marketable product.”

Volt’s proprietary DLE technology comprises a three-stage process to extract lithium from oilfield brine, as depicted in the accompanying diagram. In Stage One, Volt uses proven equipment and established processes to treat and purify oilfield brine. Through recent developments at its Demonstration Plant, the company confirmed the ability to effectively remove up to 99% of contaminants in the preparation of clean brine for the DLE process. In Stage Two, Volt uses the company’s proprietary DLE technology to extract lithium from the brine, which on average yields up to 98% lithium extraction results to produce eluate. In the final Stage Three, Volt purifies and concentrates the eluate which is then refined in-house to a lithium carbonate up to 99.5% purity, capable of meeting industry specifications for battery-grade lithium.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/01022024/volt-lithium-successfully-produces-battery-grade-lithium-carbonate/