Stria Lithium wraps up phase 1 testing for proprietary processing technology
Tue 12:00 pm by Deborah Bacal
'With the proof of principle phase completed, we have commenced our Phase 2 optimization of kinetics and recovery testing of our spodumene ore-to-lithium chloride process.' "With the proof of principle phase completed, we have commenced our Phase 2 optimization of kinetics and recovery testing of our spodumene ore-to-lithium chloride process."
Stria Lithium (CVE:SRA) says it has successfully completed the phase 1 "proof of principle" development of a new process to convert hard rock ore to lithium chloride.
The news follows on from the company's announcement in January, when it said it planned to introduce proprietary, on-site processing technologies to produce high purity lithium chloride directly from spodumene ore on an environmentally sustainable basis.
The process also uses fewer chemicals and fewer controls as well as less energy, meaning it will cost less money to recover lithium.
"Stria is a technology lithium property developer with an eye to building a competitive advantage in an established global market by focusing on the introduction of cost-mitigating, upstream, environmentally sustainable processing capabilities," said Stria president and COO Julien Davy.
"With the proof of principle phase completed, we have commenced our Phase 2 optimization of kinetics and recovery testing of our spodumene ore-to-lithium chloride process.
"The engineering data derived from Phase 2 examinations and laboratory trials should form the bases for construction of a small scale pilot plant," Davy said.
One of the company's main goals is to develop a Canadian based lithium carbonate resource to address demand from the cleantech industry. In December 2013, Stria acquired the Pontax lithium property in Quebec, a key historical operation which transformed Stria into a miner rather than a mining investment firm.
Stria also owns the Willcox brine lithium properties in southeastern Arizona. The company's plan is to develop an upstream processing technology for the Pontax resource, and to further refine an existing brine processing technology for the Willcox project.
With Phase 1 mineralogical and metallurgical testing program now validated, Stria said it will embark on follow-up exploration programs at its properties in tandem with pilot plant testing.
By 2025, it is estimated that global consumption from the battery manufacturing sectors for lithium will account for some 65% of total global consumption.
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