Canada-based near-commercial lithium company Standard Lithium has purchased a 118 acres land package to advance the development of its South-West Arkansas (SWA) project.
The 118 acres of land is located in Lafayette County, Arkansas, close to the state highway 29 which has been used to access logging operations.
Standard Lithium said that a part of the property has previously been logged and the remaining harvestable timber will be removed by the previous owner before the end of this year.
Standard Lithium president and COO Andy Robinson said: “The land purchase demonstrates our commitment to advancing and de-risking the South-West Arkansas Project.
“The land, which lies to the southwest of the SWA Project’s brine lease footprint, is ideally located close to a paved highway, robust regional infrastructure and a skilled workforce.
“This acquisition adds to our existing land options in the Project area and provides us with added design flexibility as we progress the Project to the Definitive Feasibility and FEED phase.”
The SWA Project is located around 15 miles (24km) west of the City of Magnolia in southwestern Arkansas, US.
The project has an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.4Mt and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 0.4Mt lithium carbonate equivalent.
The Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource has some of the highest reported lithium brine concentrations in North America, averaging above 400 mg/L.
Standard Lithium’s recent Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) shows production of at least 30,000 tonnes per year of battery-quality lithium hydroxide starting in 2027.
The company plans to complete a FEED and Definitive Feasibility Study for the SWA project in 2024 and commence construction in 2025.
The SWA project is expected to reach commercial production in 2027, subject to continuing project definition, due diligence, project financing and receipt of future feasibility studies.
Upon reaching commercial production, the project is expected to require 91 full-time equivalent employees, said the Canadian lithium company.
