LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - CleanTech Lithium announced the start of operations at its pilot plant on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in its advancement of lithium projects in Chile.
The AIM-traded firm said the pilot plant, dedicated to the direct lithium extraction (DLE) process, had successfully completed its commissioning phase and was now in operation.

Key highlights included the extraction of lithium chloride eluate from brine sourced from the Laguna Verde project.

That eluate was produced through a process where lithium chloride was extracted onto adsorbents within DLE columns, followed by desorption with water to create purified lithium chloride eluate.

Notably, the pilot plant achieved its first production of eluate within the past week.

CleanTech said it boasted a design capacity of one tonne of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per month, as concentrated eluate.

That concentrated eluate would undergo further processing through a reverse osmosis unit to enhance its concentration before being shipped to North America for conversion into battery-grade lithium carbonate.

CleanTech Lithium said it was strategically determining the volume of each batch based on end-user requirements and conversion cost considerations.

The company had enlisted Conductive Energy for the conversion process, using standard industry processing steps.

Beyond production, the pilot plant served as a platform for process optimisation and product verification.

Its operation was integral to the ongoing pre-feasibility study for the project, providing crucial data and insights.

"I am very pleased to inform the market that our pilot plant has commenced operation with the first volume of lithium chloride eluate produced," said chief executive officer Aldo Boitano.

"Batches of concentrated eluate will be shipped to North America to be converted into battery grade lithium carbonate by a third-party processor."

Boitano said the pilot plant planned to produce significant quantities of battery grade product for evaluation by potential strategic partners, making CTL "one of the few companies in the sector" to produce pilot scale volumes of battery grade product.

"The pilot plant positions CTL as a leader in the sector and in Chile, with first eluate production representing a significant milestone for the company."

At 1032 GMT, shares in CleanTech Lithium were up 2.48% at 15.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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