Aim-listed Africa-focussed lithium explorer and developer Atlantic Lithium’s Ghana-based Ewoyaa lithium project points to primary lithium concentrate recoveries of up to 80% in the dominant P1 material.

Using heavy liquid separation (HLS) at a coarser 10 mm crush size, Atlantic Lithium has been able to replicate the recovery properties with dense medium separation at pilot scale, providing confidence in the proposed gravity plant design to deliver an economic outcome.

CEO Lennard Kolff says the results successfully demonstrate that Atlantic Lithium is able to produce high-purity, low contaminants 6% lithium oxide SC6 spodumene concentrate at a coarse 10 mm crush, which is much coarser than previously projected in the scoping study.

This, he says, provides potential for lower operating costs, especially within the dominant P1 material.

Atlantic Lithium is undertaking metallurgical test work in support of the prefeasibility study (PFS) that is under way at the Ewoyaa project.

The results thus far, support a low-cost gravity separation plant at a coarser 10 mm primary crush size, which compares favourably to the scoping study base case at a finer 6.3 mm crush.

Atlantic Lithium notes that lithium and feldspar concentrate quality test work conducted to date exceeds offtaker requirements and can be achieved using standard gravity separation techniques.

“Results have consistently delivered lithium and feldspar concentrate quality that exceeds offtaker requirements and reaffirms the suitability of a simple dense medium gravity separation process route, boding well for low capital costs, operating costs and carbon intensities,” says Kolff.

The company has also completed test work on a total of 1.7 t of drill core in 64 composites from across the Ewoyaa project, directing focus onto the first five years of planned mine production.

Going forward, the results of test work to support the PFS are expected to be delivered in the third quarter.

He adds that the Ewoyaa project is “exceptionally well located”, being only 1 km from the sealed national highway and 110 km from the operating deep-sea port of Takoradi with adjacent grid power.

“We believe it is challenging to find better-located lithium pegmatite projects elsewhere.”

With Ewoyaa being funded to production through Atlantic Lithium’s agreement with Piedmont Lithium, Kolff says these metallurgical results continue to highlight the “exceptional potential” of the project and the value that it brings to the company and shareholders.