E3 Lithium (TSXV: ETL; US-OTC: EEMMF) is getting $5 million from the Alberta government to support its lithium brine demonstration facility as it vies to become the oil-producing province’s first producer of the battery metal.
The company’s Clearwater project in Old’s, Alta. released a prefeasibility study in June reporting the first lithium brine proven mineral reserves in Canada.
The investment comes through the Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) technology innovation and emissions reduction (TIER) fund. The project aims to help E3 Lithium achieve its goal of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate from Alberta’s brine resources.
“E3 is on the path to building a new industry in the province. As we prove the technology at an increasing scale, we increase the certainty that Alberta can be a major lithium-producing jurisdiction,” said E3 Lithium president and CEO Chris Doornbos in a release. “ERA’s funding is crucial for developing a commercial facility and producing battery-grade lithium. This investment not only supports E3 but also opens new opportunities for the province and positions Alberta as a leader in critical minerals innovation.”
E3 Lithium shares rose 7.8% on the news, trading at $1.24 per share at noon. The company has a market cap of $94 million.
The six-month demonstration project will focus on purifying, concentrating and converting brine into battery-grade lithium carbonate. The data collected will help design a full-scale commercial facility.
E3 says the project will build on last year’s successful pilot testing and will advance its direct lithium extraction (DLE) process.
The prefeasibility study for E3’s Clearwater project outlined proven and probable mineral reserves of 1.3 million tonnes of LCE grading at 75 mg per litre. With an initial capital cost of $2.5 billion, the project has an after-tax net present value of $3.7 billion using an 8% discount rate. The study pegged the internal rate of return at 24.6%, and the project’s production life at 50 years.
Alberta’s minister of environment and protected areas Rebecca Schulz, quoted in E3’s press release, emphasized the importance of the project in the context of the global race for critical minerals. She highlighted the province’s rich brine reserves and experienced workforce, as well as the nascent industry’s potential to stimulate investment and create jobs in Alberta.
E3 also holds mineral permits in southeast Saskatchewan’s Estevan area.
Their after-tax NPV was calculated assuming a price of US$31,000/tonne of lithium hydroxide. Hope those prices get back up.
Lithium spot prices are low at the moment, but they’ll go up, just like oil does. The cure for low prices is low prices. Besides, others are doing deals at contracted prices, which are around $18K at the moment.