International Battery Metals begins lithium extraction at U.S. Mag site in Utah

Workers finish testing International Battery Metals Ltd.'s modular lithium extraction plant on the grounds of U.S. Magnesium’s operations on
the southwest shore of the Great Salt Lake in Tooele County. The installation is the world's first portable modular lithium processing operation
and takes lithium from waste brine, a byproduct of the magnesium producing process.

John Rogers 

International Battery Metals Ltd., a Vancouver, Canada-based company that focuses on extracting lithium compounds from brine, has started operation of the world’s first modular direct lithium extraction (DLE) plant at the site of U.S. Magnesium’s operations on the southwest shore of the Great Salt Lake in Tooele County. The modular equipment and process allows International Battery Metals (IBAT) to move to a site where lithium-rich brine is located and begin extracting the mineral in a relatively short time.

The U.S. Magnesium facility, about 60 miles west of Salt Lake City, produces a byproduct — magnesium chloride/ lithium chloride brine, which is currently viewed as waste — in its magnesium production process from the salts in the Great Salt Lake. IBAT then reprocesses the brine to extract lithium chloride, a precursor to the lithium that is currently in high demand for the manufacture of batteries — especially in the electric automobile industry. The proprietary technology has been verified to extract more than 97 percent of available lithium from brine using no chemicals and with a water recovery rate of up to 98 percent via a closed-loop recycling system.

The lithium chloride produced by the IBAT equipment is marketed by U.S. Magnesium with royalties paid to IBAT along with rental fees for the equipment. After a testing period, IBAT expects to expand production by installing additional columns on the same DLE modular platform with a target of significantly increasing capacity.

International Battery Metals said that the Utah installation is an industry landmark representing the first lithium produced from the only modular DLE operation in the world and the first commercial DLE operation in North America.

“This achievement is momentous for IBAT and a harbinger for an industry-transformation to significantly boost lithium production on a more cost-effective and sustainable basis, clearing a path for supplies of lower-priced, high-quality lithium for EV batteries and large-scale grid backup battery installations,” said John Burba, founder and chief technology officer of IBAT. “This kicks off a U.S. lithium production renaissance and creates the potential for a sea change in global lithium supplies.”

Burba said the installation is the culmination of over four decades of his work in lithium extraction, including the invention of the first lithium absorbent, used in the world’s first DLE plant at Hombre Muerto in Argentina, which has been in continuous production since 1998.

Burba said IBAT is working with resource holders of oilfield brines, brine aquifers and industrial customers with brine byproducts to find future sites where the modular extraction process can be installed. He believes the modular design of its DLE plant provides significant initial cost savings to customers and the proprietary DLE technology lowers operating costs by selectively extracting lithium from the brine while efficiently removing contaminants.