Most recent news, bench test results!
Enertopia Announces 85.62% Lithium Recovery
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 6, 2017 / Enertopia Corporation (OTCQB: ENRT) (CSE: TOP), (the "Company" or "Enertopia") is pleased to announce it has received results from Genesis Water Technologies Inc. (GWT) lithium recovery bench tests of four synthetic brine samples using GWTs patent pending process.
The first goal of the four separate bench tests was to confirm the estimated 90% recovery rate of Lithium (Li) from various brines sources as per the June 2016 theoretical feasibility study. The recovery rates for Lithium in the four synthetic brines analyzed were from 77.87% to 85.62% over a testing period of 24 hours.
"The GWT technical team believes that adjustments to the recovery process could result in shorter uptake times and potentially higher recovery rates of Lithium going forward." stated Nick Nicholas, from GWT.
The Table below shows the salient chemical features of the four samples and respective Lithium recovery rates for the Lithium:
Test Sample
Ca
PPM
Cl
PPM
H2S
PPM
Na
PPM
Mg
PPM
Li
PPM
Mg/Li
Ratio
Li
Recovery
A
520
88,000
NA
46,000
500
190
2.63
77.87%
B
29,300
176,679
364
72,500
2,243
423
5.30
80.00%
C
770
79,100
NA
44,600
1,850
490
3.76
85.62%
D
170
163,000
NA
56,000
23,000
580
39.66
81.50%
AVG
81.25%
"One of the primary positive takeaways from the test was the high recovery rate from sample D from Bolivia, with its very high Mg/Li ratio. Bolivia has some of the world's highest Lithium values but unlocking Lithium from Bolivian brines has been a very difficult problem to overcome historically due to the very high Mg/Li ratios in those brines. Enertopia sourced data with the highest Mg values and lowest Li values in its recent tests to determine how the GWT recovery process would perform under difficult conditions and it passed this first test flawlessly," Stated President Robert McAllister.
The second goal of the bench tests was to confirm that GWTs Lithium recovery process would result in a final product of 99.5% or greater purity of battery grade Lithium Carbonate (Li2CO3) as was indicated by the June 2016 theoretical feasibility study. Lithium Carbonate products from the processing of the 4 brine samples are being shipped to a third-party, independent lab and Enertopia will provide the marketplace with an update once purity tests have begun.
Data from four historic samples submitted to GWT for the bench tests were from:
Sample A Clayton Valley, USA
Sample B, Oil well waste water mid-continent USA
Sample C, Argentina, Salar
Sample D, Bolivia Salar
The purpose of these samples in the bench test is to determine how the technology and proposed recovery process would be impacted by differing chemical compositions and values of Lithium in the brines. The focus is to find out what Lithium concentration in the brine would be needed for economic recovery in the differing brines per their unique chemical compositions.
If proven economically viable, the use of the proposed technology could offer a faster track to production than could be expected with most mining projects - and at a far smaller capex. More importantly for the environment, the pilot plant and subsequent commercial plant would make up a very small footprint and not the thousands of acres that are commonly used in the enriching process for Lithium brine deposits around the world.
"Enertopia looks forward to the results of the 3rd party independent laboratory testing to determine the purity of lithium carbonate product produced from processing of the 4 brine samples by GWTs recovery process. Modern technology is revolutionizing Lithium production technology and providing a much better way to recover lithium while protecting our environment. We are enthusiastic in becoming leaders in this evolution," Stated President and CEO Robert McAllister
The Qualified person:
The technical data in this news release have been reviewed by Douglas Wood, P.Geol a qualified person under the terms of NI 43-101.
About Enertopia:
Enertopias shares are quoted in Canada with symbol TOP and in the United States with symbol ENRT. For additional information, please visit www.enertopia.com or call Robert McAllister, the President at 1.250.765.6412
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