Name of the Project
Sal de Vida lithium project.

Location
Catamarca province, in Argentina.

Project Owner/s
Australian public mining company Galaxy Resources.

Project Description
A feasibility study has confirmed that the Sal de Vida project will be a globally competitive, highly profitable producer of battery-grade lithium carbonate, with the lowest-quartile capital and operating costs.

The project is targeting production of about 32 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate in three stages.

The feasibility study focuses on Stage 1, which includes brine extraction, evaporation and processing operations on site to produce 10 700 t/y of high-grade lithium carbonate.

Stage 1 has an estimated life-of-mine of 44 years, based only on reserves. Reserves are estimated at 242.4-million tonnes for 6.23-million tonnes of lithium carbonate. The layout and development plan for Stage 1 allows for future expansion for subsequent stages.

A prefeasibility study has been completed on the two-stage expansion of the project, with an increase of 10 700 t/y of lithium carbonate for each stage.

The staged approach uses the same basis of design as in Stage 1, with project integration planning and detailed engineering to start immediately after Stage 1 milestones have been achieved.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Stage 1 has a pretax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of $809-million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 43%, with a payback from the start of first production of two years.

The pretax NPV for all three stages is estimated at $2.1-billion and an IRR of 43%.

Capital Expenditure
Stage 1 is estimated at $153-million.

Development capital for all three stages is estimated at $466-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First production is targeted for late 2022 and the Stage 2 design is to start in parallel to the Stage 1 ramp-up.

Latest Developments
The project will progress to detailed design and construction.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Galaxy Resources (Argentina), tel +54 383 445 2446 or email info@gxy.com.