Atlas Lithium secures permit for Neves project
Once operational, annual lithium production at Neves is projected to reach 300,000 tonnes.
Koch, Inc. signed a deal with a US lithium venture to provide technology that includes an industry-first guarantee of recovering at least 95% of the metal from salty water using its new extraction methods.
The company’s Koch Technology Solutions unit agreed to license its so-called direct lithium extraction process to a joint venture of Standard Lithium Ltd. and Equinor ASA for use in a planned commercial plant in southwest Arkansas, the firms said Monday in a statement.
The technology strips out lithium directly from brine in a process that promises to be cheaper, faster and cleaner than the traditional lithium extraction methods used in South America, a region with about half of the world’s reserves. Dozens of firms have been working on improved extraction methods collectively known as DLE, though they’ve yet to be proven at a commercial scale.
The Koch agreement includes a performance guarantee — promising a lithium recovery rate that is about double the rate from the common practice of relying on recovering the metal from evaporation ponds. This is the first time a technology provider has stated in a binding agreement that its process is going to work, backing it with a specific number for how much lithium can be recouped from salty water.
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