Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY) continues to make good progress at the Rincon Lithium Project, located in Salta Province, Argentina, by further defining its proprietary clean lithium processing technology.
Argosy has developed a chemical process technology to produce battery quality lithium carbonate that is conscious of limiting its environmental footprint. The two key environmental factors which set our technology apart from other lithium carbonate producers are:
Low energy use – consuming estimated ~1MW for 2,000tpa operation and ~5-6MW for 10,000tpa expansion operation.
Low raw water consumption – estimated flow rate of ~6-8m3/h for the 2,000tpa operation and ~40m3/h for the 10,000tpa expansion operation.
We have a successfully proven, proprietary and environmentally friendly clean lithium technology to produce battery quality lithium carbonate with low impurities, meeting ESG requirements with a low carbon footprint of low fresh water and energy usage, sustainably producing at a scale no other junior lithium company is currently able to achieve, and currently in construction phase for the 2,000tpa operation, with development plans for an additional 10,000tpa production expansion,” Managing Director, Jerko Zuvela, said.
Raw water usage requirements are significantly reduced via recycling ~90% of the brine fed through the process plant, and is returned to the natural salar in a balanced/neutral state. The water usage method will ensure there is no impact on people, animals or natural vegetation, and all raw water will be sourced from natural flows beneath the salar, which will otherwise evaporate naturally if not utilised, thus maintaining the equilibrium process at the salar.
Energy for the 2,000tpa operation will be provided by the nearby gas pipeline. The low energy use equates to a smaller carbon footprint than many in the industry. The Rincon Lithium Project’s environmental credentials will also be boosted by the potential use of solar energy for the 10,000tpa. The Company is investigating utilising electricity generated from the nearby Altiplano 208MW solar power plant (currently in construction).
This facility will generate 208MW (when operational) and potentially provide a valuable source of low emissions energy for the 10,000tpa expansion operation.
The proprietary chemical process technology developed for the Rincon Lithium Project will be a low emissions operation with a small carbon footprint.
The Company is working on options to further reduce emissions for the 10,000tpa expansion operation – by sourcing energy from the neighbouring Altiplano 208MW solar power plant (currently in construction), where the Company may be able to replace the use of natural gas for powering the electric generators, and thus may enable a considerable reduction of carbon emissions.