Latest news with #CosmosExploration
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Bolivian lithium brines emerging from the shadows cast by Chile and Argentina
Bolivia's salars are estimated to host about 22% of the world's known lithium resources Lithium brines in the country saddled with high levels of magnesium that make it expensive to process Cosmos Exploration is counting on A-DLE technology developed by Vulcan Energy to overcome this hurdle The famed Lithium Triangle encompasses parts of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia and supplies the majority of the world's lithium and hosts the lion's share of identified reserves. This lithium is contained within salt lakes (salars) that host mineral-rich brines that have to be pumped up to surface and traditionally left in evaporation ponds to be concentrated with reagents before being processed. These are globally significant due to their exceptional lithium enrichment that is due to a combination of geological, climatic, basin morphology and hydrological factors that create ideal conditions for lithium concentration. However, while Bolivia's salars are estimated by the US Geological Survey to host an estimated 23Mt of contained lithium, about 22% of the world's known lithium resources, most of the attention has been monopolised by Chile and Argentina. Chile is the second largest producer of lithium after Australia, while companies have snapped up, grown and carried out extensive work in Argentina. So why has Bolivia fallen by the wayside? Magnesium malaise For starters, the Bolivian salars are higher in altitude and wetter than those in Chile, meaning that the extraction process takes longer and costs more as the cooler temperatures reduce the evaporation rate and seasonal rainfall exacerbates this. But Cosmos Exploration (ASX:C1X) executive chairman Jeremy Robinson told Stockhead the foremost reason was the relatively high magnesium content of the Bolivian brines. As an example, the giant Salar de Uyuni – the largest lithium-bearing salt lake in the world – has an extremely high magnesium to lithium ratio of 19:1, above the 6:1 found at Chile's Salar de Atacama and 1:1 at Argentina's Hombre Muerto salar. This magnesium has to be removed by adding slaked lime before the concentrated brine can be processed, a requirement that adds further costs to the process. A common industry axiom says that the ratio needs to be below 10:1 to remain economical. 'That's why we need direct lithium extraction technology,' Robinson added. Counting on DLE Adsorption-type Direct Lithium Extraction (A-DLE) uses physical processes, optimised by heat and salinity gradients, to selectively extract lithium from brines while minimising water loss and environmental impact. DLE extraction does require significant upfront investment and energy input but can achieve lithium extraction in just hours or days – rather than weeks or months with higher recoveries. Cosmos itself is counting on A-DLE. In December last year, the company signed an exclusive option agreement to acquire EAU Lithium, a private lithium development company, part owned by Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL), with a technology-testing agreement with Bolivian state-owned company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB). This agreement, which also leverages EAU's technology partnership with Vulcan, enables EAU to test lithium brines from Salar de Coipasa, Salar de Empexa and Salar de Pastos Grandes salars – some of the largest salars in the country. While recognised for their high lithium, high magnesium brine chemistry, these salars remain largely undeveloped and have seen less work than the more widely studied Salar de Uyuni. Despite this, they offer compelling opportunities for the evaluation of advanced lithium extraction technologies with the region benefitting from existing road infrastructure and access to export routes via nearby Chilean ports. 'We've purchased an option to acquire EAU lithium and EAU Lithium has a test work agreement whereby it has to prove that the Vulcan A-DLE technology can recover the lithium from the lithium brine in Bolivia,' Robinson said. VULSORB is Vulcan's proprietary alumina-based sorbent that has demonstrated higher performance and lower water consumption for lithium extraction compared to commercially available sorbents. Cosmos had previously flagged that the entire process could take six to nine months.
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
ASX Resources Quarterly Wrap: Lithium green shoots despite market pull-back
The lithium market is still in the doldrums but lithium focused resources stocks are staying active with exploration Others are safeguarding capital to capitalise on future market recovery We survey quarterly reports to bring you highlights from up and comers like Pursuit Minerals, Green Technology Metals, Cosmos Exploration and First Lithium Lithium prices are deep into the cost curve by any metric, and a number of lithium stocks are pushing ahead with exploration despite the downturn in the hope of arriving early to the next cycle. At the upper end of town, Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) reported solid results from its Kathleen Valley project, which declared commercial production during the quarter amid a volatile trading environment. Revenue rose by 17% to $104m, with $14m in cash flow generated from operations. The company produced 95,709 dmt of spodumene concentrate and sold 93,940dmt across five shipments. LTR managing director and CEO Tony Ottavino said the company is seeing consistent, positive performance across key metrics, including the shipment of over 180,000dmt of spodumene concentrate since production started, generating $205m in revenue. He added that the emerging lithium producer remains focused on streamlining costs, with operational efficiencies continuing to pay off. Lithium frontrunner Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) noted a 34% drop in production volume to 125,000t at Pilgangoora as well as a 30% slide in revenue over the prior quarter to $150m. Argonaut Funds Management's David Franklyn said although Pilbara shares have dropped 41% in the past three months, there was nothing dramatic in the March quarterly report. But it continues to show that we are 'bouncing along the bottom in the lithium market'. 'It just took another step down with the recent pull back in the market. If you look at the results, I think they're doing everything right operationally,' he added. A few green shoots were also reported at the smaller end of the market, with some highlights including the successful commissioning of Pursuit Minerals' 250tpa lithium carbonate plant in Salta, Argentina. That's where we head for our wrap of the quarterlies you may have missed. Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) PUR's lithium carbonate pilot plant sits within its wider Rio Grande Sur project, which is being advanced through a deliberately phased and modular development strategy that enables the company to manage capital intensity, validate process flow efficiency, and expand in alignment with market demand. Initial production from synthetic brine has kicked off, making the transition to near-term revenue generation. Progress was also made on feasibility studies to incorporate the 339% jump in new resources that were upgraded last year (1.1Mt) and a staged development plan with the company saying it remains on track for release in H1 2025. Active discussions were also held with offtake partners who made multiple product sample requests in the quarter. It also advanced numerous engineering and geological workstreams and permitting approval processes. Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) GT1 said it is continuing to implement cost-control measures in direct response to challenging global lithium market conditions. GT1 managing director Cameron Henry said exploration programs have been significantly scaled back, and a targeted workforce restructure has resulted in a 40% reduction in staffing levels, retaining only those roles essential to progressing core projects. 'Given the sustained challenges in global lithium markets, all key workstreams and development timelines—including any potential Final Investment Decision (FID) at Seymour—are dependent on improved market conditions and the availability of funding support from strategic partners,' he said. 'GT1 will continue to rigorously assess its cost base and project schedule, taking further action where necessary to safeguard capital and ensure the company remains well-positioned for a market recovery.' A 1 for 3.85 non-renounceable pro rata entitlement offer during the period, raising approximately $3.46 million before costs. The Entitlement Offer and Top-Up Offer closed on April 15 with strong participation from directors John Young, Cameron Henry, Patrick Murphy, and existing long-term shareholders and institutional investors. GT1 is now preparing funding applications under the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund (CMIF) for all three of its core projects. New applications are expected to be finalised and submitted during the upcoming quarter. Cosmos Exploration (ASX:C1X) C1X started activities that private Australian company EAU Lithium, which it acquired in December 2024, had agreed to perform under its technology agreement with Bolivian state-owned lithium company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB). EAU Lithium had been selected by YLB to undertake technology testing on brines from Salar de Coipasa, Salar de Empexa, and Salar de Pastos Grandes. As part of this, the company has shipped 5m3 of bulk brine samples from the three salars to Germany for testing at Vulcan Energy Resources' (ASX:VUL) facility in Germany. While these samples are still in transit from Bolivia, testing of synthetic brine formulated to replicate the major ion chemistry of the three salars is underway at the facility to provide early indications of the compatibility of Vulcan's VULSORB sorbent ahead of any future test work using the bulk brine samples. VUL's direct lithium extraction technology is being evaluated for its potential to provide a more efficient, scalable and environmentally sustainable solution for lithium recovery from Bolivia's complex brine chemistry. Successful validation of a DLE tech will represent a significant step forward for lithium extraction in Bolivia, enabling higher-yield, lower-impact processing in one of the world's largest untapped lithium resource jurisdictions. Results from the testing will support ongoing negotiations toward a proposed industrialisation agreement, which is expected to establish a long-term framework for the supply and processing of lithium-rich brine over multiple decades. This agreement would form the basis for commercial-scale development and a secure, sustainable lithium supply chain aligned with Bolivia's national development objectives. First Lithium (ASX:FL1) During the March 2025 quarter, First Lithium progressed renewals of its mining licence after the Mali government moved on March 15, 2025, to partially lift the suspension of mining permits that had been in place since September 2022. The company also received a letter from the National Director of Geology and Mines in Mali which confirmed that it could continue geophysical survey work on both the Faraba and Blakala permits in the interim while requirements for the licence renewal process were being finalised. FL1 also finalised a loan note of $1.2m via an agreement with sophisticated and professional investors. Funds will be used to finalise the licence renewal process and advance a maiden resource estimate for Blakala as well as general working capital. The resource update will include some stellar drill hits, such as strikes in the Eastern pegmatite zones including 24m at 1.53% Li2O from 129m, 28.59m at 1.51% from 117m and 9m at 1.62% from 117m. Anything above 1% Li2O is generally considered economic with only a handful of deposits reporting grades upwards of 1.4%. The loan funding will occur in three $400,000 tranches with a conversion price of $0.10 each, with interest accruing at 10% per annum and payable in stock on the same terms as the loan.
