American Lithium, along with American Battery Technology Company, received a grant for a completion of the lithium project near Tonopah.
Awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office, the grant will fund 50 percent of the capital cost for a $4.5 million lithium extraction/hydroxide pilot plant, according to the press release.
The grant provides funding to complete field demonstration of selective leaching, targeted purification, and electro-chemical production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide precursor from American Lithium’s TLC Project, near Tonopah, the release said.
The funding is part of U.S. government agencies’ efforts to reduce American dependence on foreign supply of important critical minerals including battery metals required for American energy storage needs, including the electrification of the vehicle sector.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with ABTC on this high-profile pilot project with funding from the Department of Energy,” Mike Kobler, CEO of American Lithium said in a press release.
“We believe that it is a strong validation of the unique characteristics of lithium mineralization at TLC that the U.S. government selected this project to back and provide funding for. It’s exciting to be working with ABTC and others on this multi-year, industry-led partnership to improve the production of lithium hydroxide from domestic sources. Together, we can be leaders in the growth of the lithium chemical supply in the burgeoning field of large-scale battery manufacturing in the United States,” Kobler said.
The project will look to utilize ABTC’s proprietary lithium extraction technologies to extract lithium from American Lithium’s unique TLC claystone deposits.
The lithium mineralization at the TLC project has a number of unique properties and has shown the potential, utilizing more traditional methods of extraction, for fast and cost-effective lithium extraction, according to the press release. While the company will proceed with its own initiatives to establish a viable process for lithium extraction from TLC, it will concurrently take part in the DOE-funded pilot project utilizing ABTC’s technologies, the release said.