Calgary-based E3 Metals says it has collected the largest sample to date of lithium-enriched brine from its project in Alberta.
The 20,000-litre sample was collected from the Leduc Formation in what the company calls its Central Clearwater Resource Area.
The work was completed with assistance from a local oil and gas operator with whom E3 Metals has been actively collaborating since 2017, the company says.
E3 says the sample is required to support the continued testing and scale up of its proprietary direct lithium extraction process over the next 12 months.
The company has delineated an inferred resource estimate of 6.7 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent from brine in the Leduc Formation, which now ranks Alberta as having one of the largest lithium resources in the world.
If successful in commercializing its proprietary technology for a critical step in lithium production, E3 could spur a new industry in the province, one that aligns with global efforts towards the electrification of transportation and the creation of a lower carbon-intensive economy.
“Leduc Formation brine is a byproduct to the oil and gas industry in Alberta and E3 Metals sees tremendous value in this lithium-enriched brine through the planned commercialization of its proprietary DLE process,” CEO Chris Doornbos said in a statement.
The brine will be utilized as part of ongoing technology scale-up program under a joint development agreement with Livent Corporation, he said.
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