Exploration and development company CleanTech Lithium (CTL) is progressing the prefeasibility study (PFS) at its Laguna Verde project, which will incorporate the results from extensive test work over six months using the lab-scale multivalve direct lithium extraction (DLE) system.

The company has highlighted this in a progress update on DLE, with the final components for plant arriving and being installed in Copiapó, Chile.

Moreover, the DLE pilot plant and downstream process plant to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate will enable the company to advance discussions with potential strategic partners that can support the development and financing of its projects, CleanTech says.

Delivery of final components of the DLE pilot plant at CTL’s warehouse facilities in Copiapó means the pilot plant can be fully assembled and testing can begin.

Technicians from Sunresin are scheduled to visit at the end of November for the final testing and commissioning phase.

The DLE pilot plant is designed to produce up to 1 t a month of lithium carbonate-equivalent in concentrated lithium eluate which will be processed to battery grade lithium carbonate at an existing third-party facility.

Samples of the product will be made available to potential strategic partners and offtakers, such as major auto and battery manufacturers, for testing and product qualification.

Recently, a team from CTL’s senior leadership visited several DLE operations in China. The visit demonstrated how rapidly DLE technology is advancing, CleanTech avers.

CEO Aldo Boitano, nonexecutive director Maha Daoudi and DLE process manager Rodrigo Rivas visited DLE operations and manufacturers spanning the DLE supply chain to see firsthand the commercial application of the technology in China.

“The recent visit to China has shown me the great opportunity DLE offers to produce lithium with an environmental, social and governance-led approach. It is clear in my mind that DLE is the way forward for lithium production if we are to meet electric vehicle production targets.

“The companies we visited in China are forging ahead with lithium extraction from brine with no evaporation ponds and this has provided further certainty in our projects as we progress with the PFS for Laguna Verde. This important phase of CleanTech Lithium’s growth will help with the discussions we are planning to have with strategic partners in 2024,” Boitano says.