Volt Lithium Corp. (TSXV: VLT | OTCQB: VLTLF) (“Volt” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully produced 99.5% battery-grade lithium carbonate, a commercial and saleable lithium product, in-house at Volt’s permanent Demonstration Plant in Calgary. The Company processed oilfield brine from the Keg River formation at its Rainbow Lake, Alberta asset to produce lithium carbonate with its proprietary and proven next-generation direct lithium extraction (“DLE”) technology. This represents a significant milestone for Volt as the Company now has the capability to process oilfield brine and then refine its eluate into lithium carbonate that meets the specifications required to produce a saleable battery grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide.
“I am thrilled to confirm that the Volt team continues to advance our DLE capabilities at our Demonstration Plant and showcased our ability to transform oilfield brine into a commercially saleable grade of lithium carbonate. Bringing the full-cycle process in-house greatly reduces the cost to produce lithium carbonate, which is expected to enhance margins and position Volt as a low-cost operator,” commented Alex Wylie, Volt’s President & CEO. “We believe oil and gas producers across North America who are keen to monetize value from their produced water can benefit from Volt’s fully self-contained, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solution to help meet the world’s growing need for lithium.”
“With Volt’s commitment to innovation and sustainability, we are excited to continue optimizing our proprietary DLE technology and very proud to report increasing success in processing oilfield brine from our initial Rainbow Lake asset,” added John McEwen, PhD, Vice President R&D and Technical Services. “Having the Demonstration Plant offers a key differentiator for Volt relative to our peers, as it enables us to simulate field operations while testing brines from all over North America. Having this capability further allows the Company to prove the broad utility of our DLE technology as we efficiently advance towards a marketable product.”
Volt’s In-House Lithium Carbonate Production
Volt’s proprietary DLE technology comprises a three-stage process to extract lithium from oilfield brine, as depicted in the accompanying diagram. In Stage One, Volt uses proven equipment and established processes to treat and purify oilfield brine. Through recent developments at its Demonstration Plant, the Company confirmed the ability to effectively remove up to 99% of contaminants in the preparation of clean brine for the DLE process. In Stage Two, Volt uses the Company’s proprietary DLE technology to extract lithium from the brine, which on average yields up to 98% lithium extraction results to produce eluate. In the final Stage Three, Volt purifies and concentrates the eluate which is then refined in-house to a lithium carbonate up to 99.5% purity, capable of meeting industry specifications for battery-grade lithium.
Brine used for the production of lithium carbonate outlined above was sourced from the 15-1-111-06W6M well (the “Feedstock Well”) producing from the Keg River formation at Rainbow Lake, and had an initial lithium concentration of 34 mg/L. Brine from the Feedstock Well was also used for DLE processing during Volt’s Pilot conducted in the second quarter of 2023 and to inform its Preliminary Economic Assessment in December 2023. Volt processed the brine using its proprietary DLE technology, at flow rates simulating field pilot operating conditions. Volt’s DLE process successfully removed 99% of the impurities, followed by 98% lithium extraction, which resulted in a high-quality eluate that was converted into a 99.5% pure lithium carbonate that meets the specifications for producing saleable battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide.
