- The Company completed five years of pilot pond evaporation
and design to be able to bring the latest technology to the new
pilot pond system
- Results confirm less than one year of evaporation from
in-situ brine to final ~3.6% lithium brine concentration prior to
shipment to the carbonation plant
- The new pilot pond system will test different technologies
to lower total cost of industrial scale ponds by making ponds
smaller and more efficient
TORONTO, April 26, 2021 /CNW/ - Neo Lithium Corp.
("Neo Lithium" or the "Company") (TSXV: NLC) (OTCQX:
NTTHF) is pleased to provide an update on pilot pond
expansion and operation at its Tres Quebradas lithium brine project
("3Q Project") in Catamarca Province, Argentina. The operational work continues to
demonstrate the Company's single-minded commitment to project-level
advancements towards operations in the fastest time possible.
The Company has been pumping brine to evaporation pilot ponds
since late 2016. Two sets of pilot evaporation ponds have been
built. The first set of pilot ponds were 1:1,000 scale and were
build in the alluvial fan near the salar. Operations in these pilot
ponds were discontinued in 2018 and a new set of pilot ponds were
built in the core of the salar (its ultimate location). The new
pilot ponds were larger, 1:600 scale, with a different design and
had a thickener system to separate the calcium chloride crystals at
the end of the process and a physical parameter 24/7 automated
monitoring system. These pilot ponds operated for three years and
produced concentrated brine to run all the experimental tests and
produced an excess of 20 tonnes of concentrated brine, equivalent
to approximately two tonnes of lithium carbonate that remains to be
processed through the pilot plant. Since the capacity of the pilot
ponds exceeds the pilot plant for now, the concentrated brine is
stored until the pilot plant starts to run in continuous mode.
Currently, the Company is taking one step further in optimizing
the pilot pond system by building 20% more pond capacity and
changing the initial design to emulate the future operation to
final pond design. This step will firm up operations and
ramp up times in the future mine and result in specific
employee training towards operation of production scale
ponds.
We also confirmed with this operation that the ponds will take
the raw brine from the wells from 1000 mg/l Lithium to 4000 mg/l
Lithium in 200 days by solar evaporation in the pre-concentration
ponds. From this composition the brine achieves the final 3.6%
Lithium concentration in less than 60 days thanks to a process
called "Reactive Dehydration". Reactive Dehydration is a process
whereby water is lost by crystallization of calcium chloride with
six molecules of water as the main driver, rather than evaporation.
The process is so efficient at cold temperatures in the salar that
it is expected that less ponds would be required than those
described in the pre-feasibility study ("PFS")[1]. This system
accelerates dramatically the residence time of the brine in the
ponds. This process is unique to the 3Q Project due to the chemical
composition of the brine.
"As we get closer to completing the Definitive Feasibility
Study, we move our pilot system to a final piloting system that is
efficient, lower cost, consumes no fresh water or reagents and
requires less capital cost to produce than other comparable
projects," stated Gabriel Pindar, COO and Director of Neo
Lithium.
This pilot pond expansion is also designed to deliver the
volumes of lithium concentrate required by the system to have the
pilot plant operating on a continuous basis.
Pond Operation
Neo Lithium has been filling and operating a pilot pond system
in the 3Q Project for five years now, providing invaluable
information to complete the Definitive Feasibility Study
("DFS") under execution (please see new image gallery showing pond
construction in https://www.neolithium.ca/news.php and
https://www.neolithium.ca/project.php).
The pilot ponds built in 2016 were the first attempt to
understand the evaporation and crystallization of the 3Q Project
brine and provided valuable information to design the second
generation of pilot ponds, built in 2018.
The 2018 pilot ponds were constructed to test different
materials and orientation to the wind. After this period of
operation and with detailed analysis of different conditions the
Company is now able to use the information gathered to improve the
design, quality, performance, and durability of future ponds. The
new design is expected to lower costs while increasing evaporation
even further and reducing the residence time of the brine in the
concentration ponds.
The Company also obtained vital information on evaporation, wave
formation in the ponds due to wind, geo-mechanical conditions of
the ground, construction materials, and wind impact over
evaporation in large ponds and liner resistance. All this
information is applicable to the DFS work that is in currently in
progress.
The new pilot pond design captures the latest advancements in
continuous pond operation where the brine flows through the system
achieving the required concentration. The Company also continues to
expand personnel, with operating rosters for the pilot ponds
covering a 24-hour operation cycle and expanding its in-situ
analytical facilities with the purchase of ICP analytical equipment
and hiring expert personnel for quick delivery of results on
piloting.
____________________________
1 The Company filed an amended technical
report for the 3Q Project entitled "Preliminary Feasibility Study
(PFS) - 3Q Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report Catamarca,
Argentina" with an effective date
of May 7, 2019 and amended as of
May 8, 2019, and subsequently amended
as of April 1, 2021
About Neo Lithium Corp.
Neo Lithium Corp. has quickly become a prominent new name in
lithium brine development by virtue of its high quality 3Q Project
and experienced team. Neo Lithium is rapidly advancing its 100%
owned 3Q Project - a unique high-grade lithium brine lake and salar
complex in Latin America's
"Lithium Triangle".
The 3Q Project is located in the Catamarca Province, the largest
lithium producing area in Argentina covering approximately 35,000 ha
including a salar complex of approximately 16,000 ha.
Additional information regarding Neo Lithium Corp. is available
on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile and at its
website at www.neolithium.ca, including various pictures of ongoing
work at the project.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this press release.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements - Certain information set forth in this
news release may contain forward-looking statements. Such
statements include but are not limited to, statements concerning
the Sidecar Placement and the Brokered Offering, the intended use
of proceeds therefrom, the Closing Date and receipt of regulatory
approvals, including the approval of the TSXV. Generally,
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words
such as "plans", "expects" or "is expected", "scheduled",
"estimates" "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations of
such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events
or results "can", "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or
"will", occur or be achieved, or the negative connotations thereof.
These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and
uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the
Company, which could cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the Company to be materially different from the
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such statements. These risks include, without limitation, risks
related to failure to obtain regulatory approval for the Sidecar
Placement, failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis
and on acceptable terms, political and regulatory risks associated
with mining and exploration activities, including environmental
regulation, risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation
of drill and sample results, risks related to the uncertainty of
cost and time estimation and the potential for unexpected delays,
costs and expenses, risks related to metal price fluctuations, the
market for lithium products, and other risks and uncertainties
related to the Company's prospects, properties and business
detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Although the
Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable
assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially
from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be
other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended and undue reliance should not be
placed on forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Neo Lithium Corp.