Grounded Lithium files Kindersley study with C$603.1M capital estimate
Previously announced economics assume US$25,000 a tonne lithium carbonate and estimate a 10.8 per cent after-tax return.
Mara Quinlan
Grounded Lithium Corp. CVEGRD OTCMKTSGRDAF said on Wednesday it filed a pre-feasibility study for its Kindersley lithium project in Saskatchewan with a C$603.1 million capital estimate. The study estimates C$125 million in after-tax net present value at an 8 per cent discount rate.
The latest CVEGRD showed shares unchanged at C$0.03 at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 26, before the filing announcement.
Grounded announced the study results on Oct. 13, so Wednesday's news is the report filing rather than newly calculated economics. The company says the Stantec report is dated June 26, 2026.
The study models about 3,200 tonnes of annual lithium carbonate equivalent production, compared with about 10,000 tonnes in the preliminary economic assessment completed in 2023. The current assessment covers only 13 per cent of the project's land, and Grounded says additional drilling could improve the production profile.
Grounded is a Calgary-based developer seeking to extract lithium from subsurface brines in western Canada. Its Kindersley plan combines a wellfield with a central processing facility using direct lithium extraction.
The Oct. 13 economic summary assumes a lithium carbonate price of US$25,000 a tonne and plant recovery of 87 per cent. It estimates a 10.8 per cent after-tax internal rate of return and a 9.7-year payback period.
The capital estimate includes closure costs. Average annual operating expenditure is estimated at C$27.2 million in the Oct. 13 summary, equivalent to C$8,581 per tonne of lithium carbonate equivalent.
Read more: Rock Tech Lithium estimates Red Rock converter capital cost at C$596M
The Oct. 13 plan calls for 45 brine production wells feeding the facility through about 46.6 kilometres of buried pipelines.
The study lists reserves of 82,499 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. Grounded says upgrading inferred resources through further exploration and infill drilling could increase planned wellfield production and reserves; those potential increases are outside the base case.
"Importantly, the PFS provides a clear path to enhance project economics through further delineation of the project’s shallow and hydrocarbon-free reservoir," president and chief executive Gregg Smith said in the Oct. 13 release.
Project partner Denison Mines Corp. TSEDML NYSEAMERICANDNN can earn up to a 75 per cent interest under an earn-in agreement.
Grounded's Oct. 28 description of the agreement sets aggregate funding at up to C$15.15 million, comprising payments to Grounded and project expenditures. Up to C$12 million is allocated to project spending, while cash payments to Grounded can reach C$3.15 million.
The partners continue to assess extraction technologies, with further engineering, cost assessments and a possible field pilot outlined on Oct. 13 as potential next development steps.
