PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A prefeasibility study (PFS) into the Kachi lithium brine project, in Argentina, has found that the project could support yearly production of 25 500 t/y of battery grade lithium carbonate over a mine life of 25 years.
ASX-listed Lake Resources on Thursday said that the PFS estimated a startup capital investment of $544-million would be required, with operating costs estimated at $107-million a year.
The study estimated that the project would have a post-tax internal rate of return of 22% and a net present value of $748-million, generating yearly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $155-million, and sales revenue of some $280-million a year.
“This is a major milestone for Lake that allows us to ramp up project development initiatives. The PFS highlights the cost-competitive nature and scale of the flagship Kachi project using direct extraction, but has the benefit of producing high-purity product capable of attracting premium pricing, while being a leader in sustainable lithium desired by Tier 1 electric vehicle makers,” said Lake MD Steve Promnitz.
“The PFS together with samples from the pilot plant will help advance discussions with offtakers and financiers,” he added.
Lake will now work to deliver product samples from the pilot plant modules to potential offtakers, while further engineering work will be undertaken to reduce up-front capital and ongoing operating costs.
Studies will also be initiated to consider the staged development of the project, starting at 100 000 t/y of lithium carbonate equivalent.