EnergyX to build lithium plant in US ‘Ark-La-Tex’ region
Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX), announced Thursday its planned lithium project in North America — project Lonestar Lithium, located in “Ark-La-Tex” region, where the Southern US states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas join.
Project Lonestar Lithium will have a target lithium production of 5,000 tons/year in Phase 1, and 25,000 tons/year in Phase 2, the company said.
In 2023 EnergyX acquired 100% of a Chile-based lithium resource, including 90,000 acres of mining concessions. The total potential inferred resource is in the range of 2.6 to 5.5 million metric tons supporting a 40,000 metric tons per annum lithium plant, the company said, adding that multiple surface samples collected indicate good lithium concentration topping over 400 mg/L.
The company last year also received a $5 million grant from the US Department of Energy with a $5 million company match, to build a demonstration plant to produce lithium hydroxide from geothermal brines in the United States. This plant sets the foundation for project Lonestar Lithium, it said.
Earlier in 2023, EnergyX closed its Series B financing from partners including General Motors and POSCO, who have first rights to portions of EnergyX’s lithium production offtake.
As it moves towards commercialization, the company has also partnered with engineering, procurement and construction company Kiewet to undertake the initial front end engineering plans of project Lonestar, and to help enhance the scalability and efficiency of EnergyX’s suite of LiTAS direct lithium extraction lithium technologies.
“Project Lonestar Lithium will take us one step closer to securing the US battery supply chain,” EnergyX CEO Teague Egan said in a news release.
“This has been a long time in the making, and we still have a long way to go, but it is crucial that US-based companies really focus on developing domestic resources to reduce our reliance on external, offshore suppliers for critical elements like lithium,” Egan said.