Processing Technology

EV Tech will employ Lepidico’s hydro-metallurgical process, characterized by low energy consumption. This method utilizes cost-effective conventional reagents and industry-standard equipment.

The processing plant’s comminution section will include: loading from the feed bunker, crushing using a vibrating grizzly and a jaw crusher, clay removal through a washing trommel, secondary crushing via a cone crusher, rod milling with multiple stages of classification and desliming. The deslimed and milled material will undergo flotation and possibly magnetic separation to yield a lithium mica-rich concentrate.

The hydrometallurgical segment of the plant encompasses leaching, impurity removal, filtration, and crystallization. The primary intended product is lithium hydroxide, planned for crystallization from the solution. Utilizing the Lepidico processing technology, this hydro-metallurgical process is characterized by low energy consumption, employing cost-effective, standard reagents and industry-standard equipment. The process operates at atmospheric pressure and moderate temperatures, followed by a series of steps for impurity removal at progressively higher pH levels, concluding with the precipitation of lithium carbonate. This method stands in contrast to the more energy-intensive processing of spodumene concentrates, which necessitates high-temperature calcination and roasting before hydro-metallurgical lithium recovery.

This effort has shaped the process flow sheet designated for the construction of the demonstration plant at the TreLith Processing Site. The plant is intended to generate commercial samples of lithium hydroxide for assessment by end-users, including battery producers and automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers. Additionally, the Demonstration Plant will yield samples of by-products like gypsum, sulphate of potash, caesium, and rubidium sulphate alum. While the Company has conducted thorough metallurgical testing of these processes at a pilot scale, the construction of a demonstration-scale plant aims to validate the scalability and commercial viability of the technology.

Processing Technology

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