PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A dispute has emerged between ASX-listed Lake Resources and its development partner Lilac Solutions over the timeline for the Kachi pilot plant, in Argentina.
Lilac will earn a 25% stake in the project upon reaching certain milestones, including completing at least 1 000 hours of operation of the Lilac pilot plant on site at the lithium brine project, and production of a lithium carbonate feed of at least 2 500 kg from on-site operations.
Lake told shareholders that it was of the opinion that the milestones had to be reached by the end of September, while Lilac held firm that it had until the end of November to reach these milestones.
If the milestones were not achieved by the required date, Lake had certain buy-back rights under an agreement, with the company saying it could exercise at its option.
To resolve the dispute, Lake has exercised its rights to have the dispute resolved either by agreement of both parties, or by arbitration.
In the meantime, work continues to progress the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Kachi project.
A previously completed updated prefeasibility study estimated that the Kachi project could produce 25 500 t/y of lithium carbonate over a mine life of 25 years, with capital costs estimated at $540-million.
The company said earlier this year that the DFS would consider a production case of 50 000 t/y, given the increased demand from potential offtakers. The DFS is due for completion in mid-2022.