E3 Lithium’s Laboratory to Expand to Include Production of Lithium Carbonate
Suite 1520 – 300 5th Ave SW
Calgary, AB T2P 3C4
Tel: +1 (587) 324-2775
Email: [email protected]
Website: e3lithium.ca
E3 Lithium’s Laboratory to Expand to Include
Production of Lithium Carbonate
Highlights:
• E3 Lithium is expanding its Calgary-based lab to manufacture battery products, including lithium
carbonate
• E3 Lithium plans to build scaled down equipment to validate lithium carbonate that will support the
feasibility study and future operations
• The carbonate produced from this work will allow the Company to refine its process for battery-
grade lithium carbonate
CALGARY, ALBERTA, May 9, 2024 – E3 LITHIUM LTD. (TSXV: ETL) (FSE: OW3) (OTCQX: EEMMF), “E3
Lithium” or the “Company,” a leader in Canadian lithium, is excited to announce it is expanding the Calgary-
based lab to incorporate the equipment to complete the polishing and production of battery products, such
as lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.
E3 Lithium’s development facility, located at the University of Calgary, has been operational since early
2021. The facilities' focus has been on the development and verification of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE)
processing technologies. The internal team of experts has been beneficial in ensuring that E3 Lithium
successfully completed the necessary steps towards technology development and selection, including
verification testing of third-party DLE processes to support the design and decision making for the
commercial facility. E3 also has its own internal analytics team that enables the Company to efficiently and
quickly produce consistent results from the various testing processes.
With the definition of the downstream processes utilizing chemical conversion to produce lithium carbonate
and then lithium hydroxide, E3 will deploy the same validation, verification and optimization strategy to the
conversion processes. This includes building scaled down process equipment that mimics the commercial
systems to validate and optimize the production of lithium carbonate. The team will further investigate the
necessity to complete the equipment to continue from carbonate to lithium hydroxide. This work will
support E3 Lithium’s feasibility engineering study and future commercial operations.
“Developing this capability in-house offers significant advantages in terms of result accuracy, cost-
effectiveness and flexibility” said Chris Doornbos, President and CEO of E3 Lithium. “By building and
operating scaled down equipment that closely mimics commercial operations, our highly skilled lab team
will verify and optimize the process. The results the lab will produce will support the design and operation
of the Company’s commercial plant and will bring efficiency to our future commercial operations by offering
prompt and accurate data and analysis.”
The Post-DLE to Lithium Carbonate Flowsheet
Suite 1520 – 300 5th Ave SW
Calgary, AB T2P 3C4
Tel: +1 (587) 324-2775
Email: [email protected]
Website: e3lithium.ca
DLE technology extracts lithium ions from E3 Lithium’s brine efficiently and effectively producing a lithium
rich concentrate stream. The process to convert the lithium rich solution (a liquid) to lithium carbonate (a
solid) utilizes conventional chemical reactions and industry standard processes and is comprised of two
main steps: purification with volume reduction and precipitation of lithium products.
• Purification and Volume Reduction: This step removes the contaminants, mainly calcium,
magnesium and boron, from the DLE lithium rich product stream, further concentrates the lithium
stream and recovers water for reuse in the process. Example of process technology used in this
step can include precipitation, nanofiltration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis (RO) and evaporation.
• Precipitation: The final step involves a conversion process achieved by mixing soda ash with the
purified, concentrated lithium solution to produce a solid lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) precipitate.
E3 Lithium will analyze the carbonate product for impurities thereby enabling the Company to gain a deeper
understanding of the process requirements necessary to achieve battery-grade lithium carbonate and
optimize the design and/or operating parameters if necessary. E3 Lithium will also send the carbonate
produced to certified third-party labs for independent validation. The Company is also evaluating the
development of the production of lithium hydroxide as it focuses on building the carbonate as a first step.
About E3 Lithium’s Lab
Located within the University of Calgary's research park, E3 Lithium’s lab comprises an office space and lab
facility. Fully equipped to standard lab specifications, it features essential safety installations and a range
of analytical instruments for conducting a wide array of tests and experiments. The lab team consists of
individuals with diverse academic backgrounds and industry experience, ensuring a multidisciplinary
approach to research and development efforts.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chris Doornbos, President & CEO
E3 Lithium Ltd.
E3 Lithium - Investor and Media Relations
587-324-2775
About E3 Lithium
E3 Lithium is a development company with a total of 16.0 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent
(LCE) Measured and Indicated and 0.9 million tonnes LCE Inferred mineral resources1 in Alberta. As
outlined in E3’s Preliminary Economic Assessment, the Clearwater Lithium Project has an NPV8% of USD
1.1 Billion with a 32% IRR pre-tax and USD 820 Million with a 27% IRR after-tax1. E3 Lithium’s goal is to
produce high purity, battery grade lithium products to power the growing electrical revolution. With a
significant lithium resource and innovative technology solutions, E3 Lithium has the potential to deliver
lithium to market from one of the best jurisdictions in the world.
Suite 1520 – 300 5th Ave SW
Calgary, AB T2P 3C4
Tel: +1 (587) 324-2775
Email: [email protected]
Website: e3lithium.ca
1: The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Clearwater Lithium Project NI 43-101 technical
report is amended Sept 17, 2021. Gordon MacMillan, P.Geol, QP, Fluid Domains Inc. and Grahame Binks,
MAusIMM, QP (Metallurgy), formerly of Sedgman Canada Limited (Report Date: June 15, 2018, Effective
Date: June 4, 2018 Amended Date: September 17, 2021). The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical Report
for the North Rocky Property, effective October 27, 2017, identified 0.9Mt LCE (inferred). The mineral
resource NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bashaw District Project, effective March 21, 2023, identified
16.0Mt LCE (measured & indicated). All reports are available on the E3 Lithium’s website
(e3lithium.ca/technical-reports) and SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management’s objectives,
strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward looking statements are frequently identified by such words as
“may”, “will”, “plan”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “intend” and similar words referring to future events
and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of
management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of
assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and
development, fluctuating commodity prices, the effectiveness and feasibility of emerging lithium extraction
technologies which have not yet been tested or proven on a commercial scale or on the Company’s brine,
competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings
available at www.sedarplus.ca. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no
obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.
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.