JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified resources company MGX Minerals has executed a letter of intent (LoI) with Orion Laboratories, in Tennessee, US, and Light Metals International (LMI), based in Vancouver, British Columbia, to jointly develop and commercialise a thermochemical process for extracting hard-rock lithium from spodumene concentrate.
MGX and joint venture (JV) partner Power Metals Corporation have agreed to provide Orion and LMI CEO Dr James Blencoe – who has more than 40 years’ experience designing, building, operating and maintaining specialised equipment for advanced chemical production – with a 10 kg sample of spodumene-rich rock originating from the Case Lake lithium project, in Ontario, which will be used to perform initial bench-scale laboratory testing.
LMI developed a thermochemical technology to rapidly manufacture lithium carbonate and/or lithium hydroxide from a variety of spodumene concentrates. The method is modular and highly scalable, enabling a small “factory footprint” and holds the potential to significantly decrease overall hard-rock lithium production costs.
Under the terms of the LoI, MGX has agreed to acquire an initial 50% interest in the technology and associated intellectual property in exchange for an initial cash payment of $250 000 and the issue of 100 000 MGX shares to LMI.
The initial proceeds will be used to complete the bench-scale laboratory testing, after which MGX has agreed to issue an additional 250 000 common shares to LMI.
Should MGX elect to further proceed, the company will fund development of a modular manufacturing plant and, upon successful development and testing of that plant, MGX will have the option to issue a further 500 000 common shares to LMI.
Should the process come to developing a modular manufacturing plant, MGX states that a JV will be formed, with MGX holding a 70% interest and LMI a 30% interest.