Sal de Vida
A globally competitive, highly profitable tier 1 lithium brine project
The Sal de Vida Project is located in Catamarca Province on the Salar del Hombre Muerto, approximately 1,400km northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Sal de Vida deposit lies within the “lithium triangle”, an area encompassing Chile, Bolivia and Argentina that contains a significant portion of the world’s estimated lithium resources. Catamarca is a proven mining jurisdiction, home to several successful mining operations and development projects such as Livent Corp and Minera Alumbrera.
Sal de Vida is utilising a simplified flowsheet, mature technology and staging development to reduce project risk and allow cash flow from Stage 1 to fund later stages.
The 2021 Sal de Vida Feasibility Study confirms a globally competitive brine operation with lowest quartile capital and operating costs. The Study details conventional brine extraction, evaporation and processes onsite for initial production of 10,700 tpa of battery grade lithium carbonate (“LC”), readily expandable to ~32ktpa LC.
For further information on Sal de Vida’s 2021 Feasibility Study, please click here.
HIGHLIGHTS
- High margins from battery grade production
- Lowest quartile capital and operating costs
- Superior brine chemistry that readily upgrades to battery grade
- De-risked development strategy & proven flowsheet
- Strong stakeholder relations & major permits in place
The 2021 Sal de Vida Feasibility confirms a globally competitive brine operation with lowest capital and operating costs
Stage 1 Project Summary
10,700 tpa LC
Annual production
754 Li ppm
Resource grade
44 year
Project Life
84%
Pond Recovery
1.7%
Pond grade feed
US$153 million
Development Capital
US $3,500 tonne
Cash operating costs
US$809 million
Pre-tax NPV
43%
Pre-tax IRR
2 year payback
From first production
Geology and Mineralisation
Updated Resource and Reserve released on 14 April 2021
- Brine Resource Estimate of 6.2 Mt LCE & Brine Reserve Estimate of 1.3Mt LCE
- For further information on Sal de Vida’s Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve, click here.
- One of the highest-grade lithium brines globally at 754 ppm Li and low levels of Mg, Ca, B impurities
- Piloting and test-work shows the brine readily upgrades to battery grade lithium carbonate
- Hydrological pump testing demonstrates excellent aquifer recharge and extraction rates
Production wellfield drilling & exploration
- Commenced in late 2020 to install 8 production wells for stage 1 and test the resource at depth
- Two completed wells led to a 27% increase in resource and a 13% increase in reserve
- 1.3 Mt LCE resource uplift due to higher brine grade and deeper wells than previous drilling
- Brine samples assayed from these two wells averaged 933 ppm Li
- Further drilling upside from remaining production wells as previous drilling is open at depth
- Impact of higher-grade brine on plant and project financials discussed
- Production & exploratory drilling will continue with a market update expected in Q3 2021
Brine Extraction and Processing
Wellfields to evaporation ponds
- 9 production wells, 7 operational, 2 on standby
- Evaporation ponds covering 284 hectares
- Regular salt harvesting plan to minimise pond capital
- Liming: milk-of-lime solution added to partially remove Mg, Ca, B impurities
Processing plant
- Designed to produce 10,700 tpa lithium carbonate
- Buffer ponds: limed brine is further concentrated to a final feed solution
- Softening: concentrated feed brine is heated with caustic soda solution to precipitate Ca and Mg
- Ion exchange: bolt-on equipment added to the flowsheet to lower Ca and Mg and yield battery grade quality lithium carbonate
- Crystallisation: Na2CO3 combined with softened brine at elevated temperatures to produce solid lithium carbonate
Production of battery grade lithium carbonate
Targeting production of 80% battery grade, 10% technical grade and 10% primary grade material
Adoption of battery grade has been seamlessly incorporated into Stage 1 design
High-grade lithium carbonate provides direct access to top tier value chains, enabling higher margins
Piloting samples have been dispatched to prospective offtake customers for testing and discussions have commenced
Onsite piloting will continue in 2021 to fine tune operational parameters, conduct staff training and generate further samples
Site Layout and Stage 1 Development Progress
Pond location based on optimal constructability properties, minimal earthworks and lower environmental impact
Work is underway to support the transition from diesel generators to a more sustainable energy mix – photovoltaic (PV) and/or natural gas
Accommodation camp upgrade, drilling of production wells and construction of key roads are underway
The project is serviced by key infrastructure including major roads, rail, air and multiple seaports in Argentina and Chile
Roadmap to first production
Early works 2021
- Construction and filling of first ponds
- Procure long lead items
- Detailed design of process plant and early site works
- Battery grade testing and offtake discussions with prospective customers
Project Execution
- Commissioning of first operational ponds
- Plant construction & commissioning
- Operational readiness
- First full production in late 2022
- Ramp up to capacity in 2023
Stage 1 readily expands to ~32,000 tpa LC with two additional stages
Stages 1-3 Project Summary
~32,000 tpa LC
Annual production
US$466 million
Development Capital
US$3,352 /tonne
Cash operating costs
US$2.1 billion
Pre-tax NPV
43%
Pre-tax IRR
3.6 year payback
From first production
Stage 1
- Moderate scale to get to market faster
- Project design includes allowances for later expansions
- Qualified product from Stage 1 enables later stages to supply the same customer base more rapidly
Stages 2 & 3
- Pre-feasibility level engineering (PFS) completed and confirms capital and operating assumptions
- Design basis is a duplication of Stage 1 with 10,700 tpa LC battery grade for each additional stage
- Wellfield and ponds located in SW region of tenement package
- Processing plant to be located at same site as Stage 1 presenting many synergies with labour, capital, reagent and product handling
- Synergies in project delivery and operational costs will also be realised in the expansion
- Potential exists to accelerate or combine expansion stages
Opportunities
- Strategically, staged approach allows prudent de-risking of the development, by adopting experience from Stage 1 into later stages
- The PFS level does not accommodate expansion synergies, however will be uncovered as engineering advances the
- Base case has assumed two further stages of 10.7 ktpa, with further upside from higher grade brine also applicable to expansions
- Increased aquifer brine content, processing technologies and operational efficiencies indicate the optimal next stage might be anywhere between 10-20ktpa, providing further economies of scale through design, construction and operation
- Cashflow generation from Mt Cattlin and Sal de Vida Stage 1 will assist in funding future stages
