Name of the Project
Kachi lithium brine project.

Location
Catamarca, Argentina.

Project Owner/s
Lithium developer Lake Resources.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) has demonstrated Kachi’s potential to deliver high-purity product – based on a sustainable and scalable process – required by battery makers.

The PFS envisages a long-life, low-cost operation with a production target of 25 500 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate using direct lithium extraction technology based on ion exchange, which, in turn, is based on an indi­cated resource of one-million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent.

The process involves the treatment of about 23-million cubic metres a year of brine at 250 g/ℓ lithium, with an overall plant recovery of 83.2%. The eluate from the process is further concentrated and purified, and then fed into a conventional lithium carbonate plant.

No solvent extraction plant is required to remove boron.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.05-billion and an internal rate of return of 25%, with a payback from first product delivery of five years.

Capital Expenditure
The project entails an investment of $544-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Lake Resources has achieved a critical milestone at the Kachi pilot plant.

The company’s direct lithium extraction technology partner Lilac Solutions has successfully operated the demonstration plant for 1 000 consecutive hours and produced 40 000 ℓ of lithium chloride eluate before the end of December, meeting all key testing milestones under the agreed timeline.

The lithium chloride eluate produced by Lilac is now being shipped to Saltworks and converted to lithium carbonate, after which it will be independently tested for purity.

Lake and Lilac last year reached an agreement to set aside differences in the development of the Kachi demonstration plant, after a dispute emerged earlier in 2022 over the timeline for the development of the pilot plant, with Lake and Lilac disagreeing about the timing of a milestone that would earn Lilac a 25% interest in the project.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Lilac Solutions (lithium extraction testwork); Hatch (engineering and design services); and Citi and JP Morgan (finance coordinators of the Kachi project).

Contact Details for Project Information
Lake Wells, tel +61 2 9299 9690 or email hello@lakeresources.com.au.