PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium developer Lake Resources has unveiled a two-phased approach to battery grade lithium carbonate production at its Kachi brine project, in Argentina.

The company on Monday said it would target two phases of 25 000 t/y of production capacity each, with a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the Phase 1 operation targeted for completion in December this year.

The DFS for Phase 2 is targeted for completion by the fourth quarter of 2026.

Lake is hoping to take a final investment decision (FID) on the Phase 1 operation by the first quarter of 2025, and to start first lithium carbonate production by the third quarter of 2027, with the project reaching full Phase 1 production by the fourth quarter of 2028.

An FID on the Phase 2 expansion is tentatively targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027 with the Phase 2 project to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2030.

“The plans announced today to the ASX show a clear path to battery grade lithium carbonate production in 2027 and phased expansion to a target of 50 000 t/y by 2030,” said Lake CEO David Dickson.

“Our new, phased approach de-risks project execution while ensuring battery grade lithium carbonate comes to market in a cleaner, efficient way. Over the past nine months, we have applied our extensive expertise in drilling, hydrogeology, and construction of large, specialty chemical projects to comprehensively reassess this project and better position us for success.

“Our findings regarding infrastructure, power, logistics requirements, and our reservoirs resulted in this path to production which will unlock value and maximise execution efficiency. This approach also provides expansion optionality to 50 000 t/y, and potentially more,” said Dickson.

“Our proven process flow incorporates both the “mine and refine” stages of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate, ensuring product consistency and designed to mitigate environmental impact,” he added.

Independent testing of lithium carbonate produced from the Kachi project has confirmed grades and purity greater than 99.8%, Dickson pointed out.

“We have validated the major commercial process systems for the Kachi project and the ability to produce high-quality, battery-grade lithium carbonate from Lake’s brine resource using Lilac direct lithium extraction technology.”