VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian diversified project developer MGX Minerals has signed a binding letter of intent to buy a 50% stake in clean-technology developer PurLucid Treatment Solution for staged payments of C$5-million over two years.
The transaction represents a solution to MGX’s dilemma of separating oil, to a high degree of purity, from lithium-bearing brine, removing one of the major hurdles of oilfield lithium brine production. PurLucid has exclusive licensing to deploy the proprietary and patented technology.
Vancouver-based MGX has consolidated most of Alberta's high-grade lithium brine properties, with permits covering most of the highest reported levels of lithium-bearing brine throughout the province, reaching up to 140 mg/ℓ lithium.
“The combined technology will likely yield the most advanced and robust industrial technology for the production of lithium and other valuable minerals from oil wells in the world," stated MGX CEO Jared Lazerson.
MGX also gained the right to acquire a 100% interest in PurLucid for a further investment of C$10-million.
The parties have developed an initial plan to integrate the technologies and plan to complete engineering over the next ten weeks. They will deploy an initial integrated small commercial oil separation and lithium carbonate production plant shortly thereafter.