For nearly 150 years, brine from oil and gas drilling has long been considered a nuisance for operators. But the tides are turning thanks to the electric vehicle (EV) revolution, which could transform billions of barrels of salty wastewater into wealth.
As lithium producers grapple with potential shortages due to mine permitting delays and staffing issues, oil and gas heavyweights are diving headfirst into the lithium extraction realm.
Oil and gas titans like Exxon Mobil and Chevron have disclosed pilot projects designed to extract lithium from brine, adding a refreshing revenue stream amidst an energy transition that’s beleaguering traditional fossil fuel industries. In July, Exxon Mobil’s CEO, Darren Woods, informed investors that the company had been exploring lithium extraction for an extended period.
Meanwhile, Occidental Petroleum’s subsidiary TerraLithium is pioneering a technique to extricate lithium from brine, not only in new wells but also across oil and gas fields and geothermal power production.
The change in sentiment from oil and gas companies comes at a time when lithium demand is rising at unprecedented rates. According to the International Energy Agency, lithium demand could surge by over 40 times by 2040.
At present, the majority of lithium supply is mined from hard rock deposits and salt flats, however a relatively new method called direct lithium extraction (DLE) could help bridge the supply and demand gap much more efficiently.
Goldman Sachs investment bankers view DLE as a “game-changing technology” that could accelerate lithium extraction and increase recovery rates. This increased efficiency could make lower-concentration lithium resources economically viable, even allowing for lithium extraction from oilfield wastewater.
DLE technology, though in its early stages, is gaining traction with more oil companies supporting its development. Occidental Petroleum is exploring brine-based lithium extraction, while Imperial Oil holds a stake in E3 Lithium Ltd. (TSXV:ETL) (FSE:OW3) (OTCQX:EEMMF), Alberta’s leading lithium developer and extraction technology innovator.
Direct Lithium Extraction Technology Achieves 94% Recovery Rate
E3 Lithium Ltd. (TSXV:ETL) (FSE:OW3) (OTCQX:EEMMF) is a commercialization company with proprietary DLE technology and a significant resource of 16.0 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in Measured and Indicated categories and 0.9 million tonnes LCE in the Inferred category.
This week, E3 Lithium reached an important milestone in the development of its Direct Lithium Extraction Field Pilot Plant, successfully completing additional tests that resulted in initial lithium recovery of more than 94%, a purity of concentrate over 80%, and an average lithium grade in concentrate of 916.6 mg/L.
E3 Lithium President & CEO Chris Doornbos expressed his enthusiasm about the field pilot plant’s operations, stating, “We are thrilled to be able to provide further updates on the operations of the field pilot plant. The plan we put in place to test various operating parameters has proved to be effective thus far. Not only have positive results been produced under several operating conditions, we have also grown our confidence to design the most efficient processes to commercialize our vast resource.”
On October 4, E3 Lithium hosted its first-ever Investor Day to highlight the company’s ongoing success. Apart from the company’s successful pilot plant development, CEO Chris Doornbos also pointed to E3’s proven technology and strong ability to raise non-dilutive capital in difficult market conditions.
Just last week, E3 Lithium closed an oversubscribed financing for a total of C$23 million, which will help the company progress commercial development. The provincial and federal government have also invested heavily in the company since 2019 due to the vast potential its technology will bring to Alberta.
According to the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for E3’s Clearwater Lithium Project, the project exhibits impressive financial metrics, including a pre-tax NPV8% of US$1.1 Billion with a 32% IRR, and an after-tax NPV of US$820 Million with a 27% IRR1. E3 Lithium believes it can produce up to 150,000 tonnes of lithium, making it one of the world’s largest lithium producers.
According to Doornbos, the PEA, which was released at the end of 2020, validated the company and its technology, unlocked the door to financing and to the company opening its own facility to demonstrate DLE technology, which is being demonstrated today.
“The benefit that we have is that we can do it better, we can do it more sustainably and we can build a world-class industry in the province,” Doornbos said.
For more information about E3 Lithium Ltd (TSXV:ETL) (OTCQX:EEMMF), please visit this link or their website at e3lithium.ca.
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6) This document contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, (collectively, “forward-looking statements”), which reflect management’s expectations regarding E3 Lithium Ltd.’s future growth, future business plans and opportunities, expected activities, and other statements about future events, results or performance. Wherever possible, words such as “predicts”, “projects”, “targets”, “plans”, “expects”, “does not expect”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “anticipate” or “does not anticipate”, “believe”, “intend” and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative or grammatical variation thereof or other variations thereof, or comparable terminology have been used to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to: (a) revenue generating potential with respect to E3 Lithium Ltd.’s industry; (b) market opportunity; (c) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business plans and strategies; (d) services that E3 Lithium Ltd. intends to offer; (e) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s milestone projections and targets; (f) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s expectations regarding receipt of approval for regulatory applications; (g) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s intentions to expand into other jurisdictions including the timeline expectations relating to those expansion plans; and (h) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s expectations with regarding its ability to deliver shareholder value. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management in light of management’s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, as of the date of this document including, without limitation, assumptions about: (a) the ability to raise any necessary additional capital on reasonable terms to execute E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business plan; (b) that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner; (c) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s ability to procure equipment and operating supplies in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis; (d) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s ability to enter into contractual arrangements with additional Pharmacies; (e) the accuracy of budgeted costs and expenditures; (f) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; (g) political and regulatory stability; (h) the receipt of governmental, regulatory and third-party approvals, licenses and permits on favorable terms; (i) changes in applicable legislation; (j) stability in financial and capital markets; and (k) expectations regarding the level of disruption to as a result of CV-19. Such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of E3 Lithium Ltd. to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation: (a) E3 Lithium Ltd.’s operations could be adversely affected by possible future government legislation, policies and controls or by changes in applicable laws and regulations; (b) public health crises such as CV-19 may adversely impact E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business; (c) the volatility of global capital markets; (d) political instability and changes to the regulations governing E3 Lithium Ltd.’s business operations (e) E3 Lithium Ltd. may be unable to implement its growth strategy; and (f) increased competition.
Except as required by law, E3 Lithium Ltd. undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future event or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Neither does E3 Lithium Ltd. nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this document. Neither E3 Lithium Ltd. nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to you or any person resulting from the use of the information in this document by you or any of your representatives or for omissions from the information in this document.
7) Any graphs, tables or other information demonstrating the historical performance or current or historical attributes of E3 Lithium Ltd. or any other entity contained in this document are intended only to illustrate historical performance or current or historical attributes of E3 Lithium Ltd. or such entities and are not necessarily indicative of future performance of E3 Lithium Ltd. or such entities.
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