E3 Lithium to construct demonstration facility Alberta

E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETMC) has announced plans to construct a fully integrated demonstration facility in Alberta with the goal of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate from brines located within the Leduc reservoir.

E3 Lithium owns the Clearwater project, located in Canada’s oil patch between Red Deer and Calgary, where it is testing a direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to extract naturally occurring lithium from oilfield brines.

Traditionally, oil drillers have disposed of the brine by pumping it back into the ground. However, the increasing demand for lithium from electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers has transformed this once-waste brine into a valuable resource.

Instead of concentrating lithium by evaporating brine in large pools, DLE pulls the brine directly into a processing plant, where it undergoes a series of chemical processes to separate the lithium before being injected back underground.

This process produces a lithium carbonate in a matter of hours, compared to the 18-month average it currently takes using evaporative ponds, and without the need to transport concentrates to a separate facility.

“The Demo project is an important step towards progressing the Clearwater project, providing samples to potential strategic partners and an overall advancement for lithium assets on a commercial scale in Alberta,” CEO Chris Doornbos said in a news release.

The Clearwater project is expected to generate 20,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually over a 20-year life, according to a 2020 preliminary economic assessment.

Shares of E3 Lithium rose 1% by 10:40 a.m. in Toronto Thursday EDT. The lithium developer has a market capitalization of C$75 million ($54 million).