Vancouver-based Standard Lithium Ltd. (TSX-V: SLI) (NYSE American: SLI) has located the highest-grade lithium brine resource to date at its East Texas project, building on a high-grade discovery there announced earlier this month.
On Wednesday, the company announced that it had drilled and sampled a brine at its newest well in the state with a grade of 806 milligrams per litre. Standard Lithium discovered a brine with an average grade of 638 milligrams of lithium per litre in early October from a different well, which it said was the highest-grade in North America at the time.
“This most recent brine sample from our newest well in East Texas confirms the exceptional quality of the lithium brine assets we’re acquiring,” said Standard Lithium’s President Andy Robinson. The series of brines at the company’s East Texas project have an average grade of 644 milligrams per litre.
The company also announced intercepting significant quantities of bromine and potash at all three of its wells in East Texas, indicating potential to generate significant revenue from those resources at its operations in the state as well.
“We are committed to securing the highest-grade and potentially largest lithium brine resource outside of Argentina and Chile,” added Robinson. Lithium brines are accumulations of saline groundwater enriched in dissolved lithium, approximately 50-85 per cent of which are located in South America’s Lithium Triangle.
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Standard Lithium is also actively involved with the Arkansas Smackover lithium project and California’s Bristol Lake project.
A feasibility study completed by the company in Q3 this year found that Arkansas Smackover’s proposed extraction plant would produce an average of 5,400 tonnes of lithium per year in its first phase.
The company expects to make a final investment decision for the project in early 2024 before potentially starting construction and commencing with commercial production in 2026.
Bristol Lake spans over 45,000 acres in San Bernardino County’s Mojave Desert. Standard Lithium has option agreements for commercial development and exploration rights for the battery metal with Tetra Technologies Inc (NYSE: TTI) and National Chloride, which have been operating in the region for decades.
Standard Lithium shares dropped by 5 per cent on Wednesday to $3.89 on TSX Venture Exchange.
rowan@mugglehead.com
