Infinity Lithium Corporation is edging closer to producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide from its 75 per cent owned San Jose lithium project in Spain with feasibility study metallurgical test-work advancing to the final “crystallisation” stage of the planned process flow sheet. Infinity recently entered a memorandum of understanding with leading lithium-ion battery producer, LG Energy Solutions, on potential long-term supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.
The testwork is based on Infinity’s 2019 pre-feasibility study on San Jose that outlined 30 years of lithium hydroxide production from 19 years of mining.
The study projected an impressive 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide production per annum, with the venture potentially generating US$6 billion in revenue.
The metallurgical testwork aims to verify pre-feasibility study process assumptions and improve process design, with results set to form the basis of a feasibility study into battery grade lithium hydroxide production from San Jose.
Management says the lab-scale testwork using material weighing less than 1kg has now reached the final crystallisation stage of the process flowsheet having progressed through the roast, leach and solution purification stages.
The results are said to be consistent with pre-feasibility assumptions.
The first lab-scale production of lithium hydroxide is reportedly on schedule for the start of the fourth quarter this year.
Scaled-up testwork using material weighing tens of kilograms has also advanced to the roasting stage of the process flowsheet.
The metallurgical testing is being conducted in Germany by leading European industrial and specialty minerals producer, Dorfner Anzaplan, in collaboration with Infinity’s technical advisory committee in Australia.
Management says the works are being funded by EIT InnoEnergy, an outfit financed by the European Battery Alliance.
The European Battery Alliance includes the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and key industry stakeholders such as automakers and battery producers looking to create a fully integrated battery manufacturing chain in Europe.
Infinity aspires to become an important player in the lithium-ion battery supply chain and recently entered an agreement to potentially supply battery grade lithium hydroxide to South Korean battery manufacturer, LG Energy.
The non-binding five-year agreement gives LG first right to 10,000 tonnes of product per annum, with potential to extend the agreement for another five years.
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By Matt Birney
