E3 Metals Achieves Major Milestone with Breakthrough Performance of its Proprietary Lithium Extraction Technology Additional testing demonstrates increased concentration of up to 100 times, resulting in lithium grades of up to 5367 mg/L
E3 Metals Achieves Major Milestone with
Breakthrough Performance of its Proprietary
Lithium Extraction Technology
Additional testing demonstrates increased concentration of up to 100 times, resulting in
lithium grades of up to 5367 mg/L
Increased concentrations continue to yield high recoveries and low impurities
Results confirm continued advancement of our proprietary ion-exchange extraction
technology and provide continued confidence in developing towards the commercial
viability of the project
CALGARY
,
March 4, 2019
/CNW/ - E3 METALS CORP. (TSXV: ETMC) (FSE: OU7A) (OTC:
EEMMF) (the "Company" or "E3" or "E3 Metals") is pleased to announce it has achieved a major
milestone in the development of its proprietary Ion Exchange Lithium Extraction Technology
("Extraction Technology"). A series of tests were conducted on the sorbent incorporating the most
recent enhancements as outlined in our
December 4, 2018
news release. These enhancements have
enabled E3 to create a more robust sorbent, resulting in higher lithium concentrations of up to 5367
mg/L lithium, compared to our previous level of 1498 mg/L. Tests were conducted to demonstrate
the performance of the enhanced sorbent by concentrating 50 times and 100 times, with resulting
lithium concentrations of 3142 mg/L and 5367 mg/L, respectively. This was accomplished without
sacrificing lithium recovery and maintaining very low impurities in the concentrate feedstock.
Lithium recovery was 98% with 50 times concentration and 84% with 100 times, confirming very high
efficiency. Greater than 99% impurity removal was observed in both cases (Table 1). E3 Metals'
Extraction Technology optimization has so far demonstrated an increase in lithium concentration from
60 mg/L to over 5000 mg/L in the latest tests. Increasing the concentration through our Extraction
Technology and producing a high purity lithium concentrate feedstock, combined with the high flow
rates from the Leduc Reservoir, are key factors behind demonstrating the feasibility of the project
and moving towards a commercial lithium production flow sheet.
"This increase in concentration using our proprietary Extraction Technology is the key to unlocking
the value of our vast, yet lower grade, resource. These results move us a significant step toward
supporting E3's goal of becoming an industry leading, low-cost producer of battery grade lithium
products," commented
Chris Doornbos
, President and CEO of E3 Metals Corp. "We have
demonstrated the ability to significantly increase our lithium concentration without using additional
energy. The higher upfront concentration means less volume to handle downstream from our lithium
Extraction Technology and should reduce the energy, inputs and potentially the capital and operating
costs required to generate lithium hydroxide. These results continually demonstrate an innovative and
robust process developed by the
University of Alberta
and supported by Green Centre Canada, with
funding from Alberta Innovates."
Optimizing the performance of our proprietary Extraction Technology is a key part of E3 Metals'
larger development plan as outlined in the
September 28, 2018
news release. The ultimate goal is to
maximize the performance of the sorbent and to demonstrate it works on a commercial production
scale. This is likely to have a significant impact on the efficiencies of the overall production flow
sheet when E3's Extraction Technology is combined with other available industry technology to
produce lithium hydroxide.
To reach the target for battery grade lithium hydroxide (LiOH•H2O), lithium is refined, and impurities
removed, to reach a 99.5% or greater purity of LiOH•H2O. Removing impurities and concentrating
the lithium in a single step is critical to the overall production flow sheet. If these concentration levels
can be consistently achieved under full cycle process flow conditions and in larger field-based pilot
plant testing, the Company believes the most significant development hurdle will have been achieved.
Click Here
for more information on E3 Metals' lithium production flow sheet and the Company's
development plans.
Figure 1: Graphical results of the lithium extraction test work
Element
Raw Brine
(mg/L)
Concentrate
50x (mg/L)
Concentrate
100x (mg/L)
Li
60
3142
5367
Na
>50000
76
136
Mg
2574
247
439
K
5131
19
27
Ca
16477
561
505
B
261
3
4
Sr
791
39
33
Li recovery
(%)
-
98%
84%
About E3 Metals Corp.
E3 Metals is a lithium development company moving towards commercialization of lithium production
in
Alberta
through continued development of its proprietary Ion Exchange Lithium Extraction
Technology. E3 plans to quickly move towards the production of high purity, battery grade, lithium
hydroxide.
The Company combines a significant resource with the right technology solutions that have the
potential to deliver lithium to market from one of the best development jurisdictions in the world. Our
prolific Leduc Reservoir hosts lithium enriched brine with 6.7 million tonnes LCE inferred mineral
resource
1
delineated to date. The development of this resource through brine production is a well
understood venture in
Alberta
, where this brine is currently being produced to surface through
extensive oil and gas development.
While the lithium brine and hydrocarbons are mutually exclusive, the Leduc Reservoir can support the
production of brine few others can boast, with one well having the ability to bring 10,000 m3/day
(115 L/s) to surface. With an average and consistent grade of 77.4 mg/L in the Clearwater
Resource Area
1
, E3 Metals' proprietary Ion Exchange Lithium Extraction Technology can quickly
produce a concentrate with a grade over 5000 mg/L. With 99% of the impurities removed at the
same time and recoveries averaging 90%
2
, this concentrate feedstock is likely to be processed
directly utilizing conventional lithium production methods to produce high purity lithium hydroxide
(LiOH∙H2O). The Company's plans are to deliver a process facility of 10,000 tonnes/year LiOH by
2022 and continue expansion to an eventual 50,000 tonnes/year.
More information about E3 Metals can be found on our website by visiting:
www.e3metalscorp.com
.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
Chris Doornbos
, President & CEO
E3 METALS CORP.
Chris Doornbos
(P.Geo), CEO and Director of E3 Metals Corp., is a Qualified Person as defined by
NI 43-101 and has read and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.
1: E3 Metals has released information on three 43-101 Technical Reports totalling a resource of 6.7
Mt LCE. The Central Clearwater Resource Area (CCRA) Technical Report, identifying 1.9Mt LCE
(inferred), is dated effective
October 27, 2017
, and the North Rocky Resource Area (NRRA)
Technical Report was dated effective
October 27, 2017
, identifies 0.9Mt LCE (inferred). A third
report for the Exshaw West Resource Area (EWRA), identifies 3.9Mt LCE (inferred) and was filed
on
June 15
th
2018, effective
June 4
th
2018. All reports are available on SEDAR (
www.sedar.com
)
2: E3 Metals News Release,
December 4, 2018
: Development of E3 Metals' Extraction Technology
Improves Lithium Concentration and Recovery. Available on
www.e3metalscorp.com
and SEDAR (
www.sedar.com
)
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.
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the potential of the
Company's projects and technology, 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.sedar.com
. 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.
SOURCE
E3 Metals Corp.
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For further information:
205 - 227 10th St NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1V5, +1 (587) 324-2775,
[email protected], e3metalscorp.com
CO: E3 Metals Corp.
CNW 03:15e 04-MAR-19