American Lithium Corp. has announced the results of its maiden preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Tonopah Lithium Claims (TLC) project located in the Esmerelda lithium district northwest of Tonopah, Nevada. This independent PEA was completed jointly by DRA Global and Stantec Consulting Ltd. and demonstrates that the TLC project has the potential to become a substantial, long-life producer of low-cost lithium carbonate (LCE or Li2CO3) with the potential to produce either battery grade LCE or lithium hydroxide (LiOH).
The PEA base case envisions an initial 4.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) processing throughput expanding to 8.8 Mtpa. The PEA alternative case is identical, but with added production of high purity magnesium sulfate as a by-product over life of operations.
Simon Clarke, CEO of American Lithium, states, “We are extremely pleased to announce a very robust maiden PEA for TLC. Our team has worked hard and spent considerable time getting an in-depth understanding of TLC mineralisation and the best way to recover high purity lithium utilising conventional processing methods with the latest techniques and best in class plant and equipment. A significant portion of the processing work has been done to pre-feasibility levels as we believe this will help us move quickly through the next phases of development. At 99.4% LCE purity, TLC offers the capability to produce either battery grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide with minimal additional refining.”
“In this PEA, we showcase a long mine-life utilising only the highest-grade sections of the deposit, with the potential for additional production ramp-up and mine life utilising our mid-grade and lower grade sections. Not only are the economics very strong for high purity lithium production, but TLC also has the potential to produce high purity magnesium sulphates as by-products for agriculture and other end uses. As shown in the PEA, even assuming conservative pricing, these by-products can add significant economic value. At the same time, we have focused our work on ensuring we continue to minimise environmental impacts and water usage in the mining, processing and production of lithium from TLC,” Clarke continues.
Additional PEA details available here.
