The sphere unit is anticipated to supply battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide monohydrate.
“The introduction of this preliminary area unit marks the achievement of one other crucial milestone in our technique to develop into one in every of North America’s first business producers of lithium from oilfield brine,” Volt CEO Alex Wylie mentioned in a information launch.
“Volt has reached a crucial inflection level with this achievement and is well-positioned to start direct lithium extraction (DLE) operations within the area throughout Q3 2024, which aligns with our earlier steering.”
Volt’s DLE strategy includes a two-stage course of. The primary focuses on eradicating contaminants from the brine earlier than extraction.
Within the second stage, the breakthrough of their know-how got here with the event of specialised ion alternate beads, the corporate mentioned.
“Not like conventional beads, their modern creation boasted a dimension of 5 microns and a powerful 800 occasions the floor space of different business normal beads, enhancing their extraction effectivity,” Wylie advised The Northern Miner in 2023.
This development, he mentioned, allowed the group to constantly extract lithium from brines throughout varied testing phases, together with profitable pilot initiatives.
Volt shares rose 5.7% in Toronto on Monday morning. The corporate’s market capitalization is C$63.1 million ($46.8 million).