CleanTech Lithium on battery-grade lithium milestone - ICYMI

CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, OTCQX:CTLHF) chief financial officer Gordon Stein talked with Proactive's Stephen Gunnion about the company's major milestone of producing battery-grade lithium.

Proactive: Hello, you're watching Proactive. I'm joined by CleanTech Lithium's chief financial officer, Gordon Stein. Gordon, very good to speak to you. CleanTech Lithium just produced lithium carbonate, a major milestone for the company. Some say this is the first lithium carbonate production from Chile at a pilot scale using this DLE process. Why is today's news important?

Gordon Stein: It was terrific and great for the company. If you step back three years, when we first started, we identified the project, and then the question was: Can you produce battery-grade lithium from brine in the Andes? We've gone through a staged process over the last few years to get here.

This is a big inflection point for the company. Over the years, we’ve drilled and identified a substantial resource in Chile, particularly at Laguna Verde. We've developed a large-scale DLE pilot plant in Copiapó, Chile. We sent 88 cubic meters of eluate in four tanks to our partners in Chicago, Conductive Energy, to produce lithium carbonate and confirm it as battery-grade.

It was a fantastic achievement. There was quite a decent crowd—around 50 people—witnessing the final step of the process. A chunk of 50kg of battery-grade lithium carbonate was produced, warm to the touch.

Chile, as you know, has the greatest lithium reserves in the world. I don’t think anyone has ever produced lithium carbonate using the DLE process before. This achievement is a significant step for the company and for the country as proof of sustainable lithium production.

Proactive: You said it's a big step for the company, Gordon. What does it mean for CleanTech Lithium?

Gordon Stein: It allows us to move forward to further stages. We've confirmed that the process works. We’re now increasing production and targeting 150kg batches.

This milestone lets us prove battery-grade lithium through an independent lab process in the United States to ensure it's usable for vehicles and free of impurities. It also gives us product samples for potential strategic partners, including car companies. We’ve had approaches, including from a household-name car company under NDA.

Additionally, this milestone supports our pre-feasibility study, which includes marketing, location, power, water, and, most importantly, lithium supply. The PFS is on track for completion in Q1 next year.

Proactive: Gordon, what other news flow should your investors be looking out for?

Gordon Stein: The PFS remains on track for Q1. Another update will be the appointment of a CEO, currently in the latter stages of regulatory processes. We expect to announce this soon.

Additionally, shareholders are watching for progress on operating contracts in Chile. We've told the market we’ll apply before the end of the year, and we’re on target for that. We’ve recently received information from the government about how applications will be reviewed.

There’s a lot of exciting news to come in the next few weeks following what was a fantastic milestone on Tuesday.