Critical Elements Successfully Produces Battery Grade Lithium Hydroxide IN Pilot Plant Testing
PRESS RELEASE
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES
OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
CRITICAL ELEMENTS SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCES BATTERY GRADE LITHIUM HYDROXIDE
IN PILOT PLANT TESTING
OCTOBER 29, 2018 – MONTREAL , QUEBEC – Critical Elements Corporation (the “Corporation” or “Critical
Elements”) (TSX-V: CRE) (US OTCQX: CRECF) (FSE: F12 ) is pleased to announce the results from the
Corporation’s pilot plant program recently complete d at the Outotec Research Center, successfully
converting spodumene concentrate from the Rose Proj ect (“Rose”) into battery grade lithium hydroxide
using a thermal leaching process. These results provide Critical Elements the flexibility, in conjunction with
lithium carbonate and spodumene production, to meet all needs of cathode, battery and electric vehicle
producers.
The pilot plant conversion process from spodumene concentrate to lithium hydroxide demonstrated strong
results with extraction rates of 93%. This extraction rate surpasses the worldwide average of between 70
to 75% in what is accepted as an industry standard. In addition, the pilot plant produced battery grade
lithium hydroxide with 99% purity . A summary of results is provided below:
Battery grade lithium hydroxide with 99% purity
High recovery of 93% versus the market benchmark o f 70 to 75%
Overall recovery from spodumene to battery grade l ithium hydroxide of 80% versus the market
benchmark of 65%
PILOT PLANT WORK DETAILS
The pilot plant work program was conducted at Outotec’s Research Center in Finland:
Test work campaign, related to Outotec’s patent pending lithium hydroxide production process,
was carried out for Critical Elements Corporation at the Outotec Research Center in Finland.
Calcined Rose and Rose South zones concentrates were tested during the test work campaign.
Concentrate used for pilot plant testing was provided from the 50 tonne bulk sample taken from
Critical Elements Rose and Rose South zones.
The test work included a two-week pilot test run. During the test campaign, the process flowsheet
was optimized.
Pilot run was operated for 14 days (24 h/day and 7 days/week)
The main unit operations in the pilot process were:
o Slurry preparation for soda leach
o Soda leach of calcined spodumene
o Soda leach residue filtration and washing
o Lithium hydroxide conversion by lime
o Conversion residue filtration and washing
o Solution purification by ion exchange
o Lithium hydroxide crystallisation
o Crystallization mother liquor recycling
o Lithium hydroxide product washing
High, 93% Li extraction from the calcined spodumene was obtained after soda leach and lithium
hydroxide conversion, with only 0.15 w-% Li concentration in the final leach residue.
Test work results produced lithium hydroxide with the following impurity profile in a single stage of
crystallization and washing:
LiOH analyses –impurity levels in LiOH
Successful results using a thermal leaching process demonstrate that Critical Elements can deliver a
battery grade lithium hydroxide to the electric vehicle market.
To date Critical Elements has completed the following testing and piloting work:
Piloting of the chosen concentrator plant design ( see Critical Elements’ press release dated April
5, 2017).
Piloting of the thermal conversion of the ore from α-spodumene to β-spodumene (See Critical
Elements’ press release dated April 13, 2017).
Piloting of the Thermal Leaching Process for Lithi um Carbonate (See Critical Elements’ press
release dated May 29, 2017).
Piloting of the Thermal Leaching + Lime Process to produce Lithium Hydroxide currently being
completed.
Based on the results of the above work and modellin g conducted by Outotec, Critical Elements believes
that the overall total recovery rate should approac h 80% which compares very favorably to industry
standards.
This recovery is based on the following:
Concentrator Plant Recovery - 92% possible as indi cated by Outotec’s modelling
Decrepitation Kiln Recovery - 96% verified in pilo t plant
Thermal Leaching Process - 93% as an average verif ied in pilot plant
Overall yield - potentially as high as 80%
Outotec is a leading technology company in multiple mining and extraction industries, including the lithium
industry, with a global presence and owned R&D faci lities in in Frankfurt, Germany and Pori, Finland, a s
well as other locations.
They offer competent knowledge of the various proce ssing options for both beneficiating spodumene, as
well as converting spodumene into saleable lithium salts. Their lithium expertise includes multiple years of
research into various lithium processing options, including the understanding and optimizing of the process
Critical Elements has chosen for lithium extraction.
"These pilot plant results support the low impurity profile of our feed which facilitates the producti on of
battery grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxi de at competitive costs without additional purifica tion
steps. Critical Elements is very pleased with providing the production of battery grade lithium hydroxide for
the Rose Project. These test results demonstrate that the Rose Project can deliver a range of EV products,
including battery grade lithium carbonate and hydro xide, to varied end users for varying applications ",
stated Jean-Sébastien Lavallée, Chairman and CEO of Critical Elements.
Next Steps
Following this successful lithium hydroxide pilot p lant production, Critical Elements will immediately
commence basic engineering of a lithium hydroxide conversion facility.
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ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm
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Jean-Sébastien Lavallée (OGQ #773), geologist, shar eholder and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of the Corporation and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical
content of this release.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities
in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be
offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securitie s Act
and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
ABOUT CRITICAL ELEMENTS CORPORATION
The Company recently released a financial analysis for Critical Elements’ wholly-owned Rose Lithium
Tantalum project (Rose Lithium-Tantalum project feasibility study, WSP, October 20, 2017), which is based
on price forecasts of US $750/tonne for chemical-gr ade lithium concentrate (5% Li2O), US $1,500/tonne
for technical-grade lithium concentrate (6% Li2O) a nd US $130/kg for Ta2O5 in tantalite concentrate, a nd
an exchange rate of US $0.75/CA $. The internal rat e of return (“IRR”) for the Rose Lithium-Tantalum
project is estimated at 34.9% after tax, and net present value (“NPV”) is estimated at CA $726 million at an
8% discount rate. The estimated payback period is 2 .8 years. The pre-tax IRR for the Rose Lithium-
Tantalum Project is estimated at 48.2% and the pre- tax NPV at CA $1,257 million at an 8% discount rate
(see press release dated September 6, 2017). The fi nancial analysis is based on the Indicated mineral
resource. An Indicated mineral resource is that par t of a mineral resource for which quantity, grade o r
quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics can be estimated with a level of confidence sufficient
to allow the appropriate application of technical a nd economic parameters, to support mine planning an d
evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit . The life-of-mine (LOM) plan provides for the extr action
of 26.8 million tonnes of ore, 182.4 million tonnes of waste, and 11.0 million tonnes of overburden for a total
of 220.2 million tonnes of material. The average stripping ratio is 7.2 tonnes per tonne of ore. The nominal
production rate is estimated at 4,600 tonnes per day, with 350 operating days per year. The open pit mining
schedule allows for a 17-year mine life. The mine w ill produce a total of 26.8 million tonnes of ore g rading
an average of 0.85% Li2O and 133 ppm Ta2O5, including dilution. The mill will process 1.61 million tonnes
of ore per year to produce an annual average of 236 ,532 tonnes of technical and chemical-grade
spodumene concentrate and 429 tonnes of tantalite concentrate.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jean-Sébastien Lavallée, P.Geo.
Chief Executive Officer
819-354-5146
www.cecorp.ca
Investor Relations:
Paradox Public Relations
514-341-0408
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.