South West Arkansas Exploration Program Identified Improved Lithium Concentrations
EL DORADO, AR - Standard Lithium Ltd., President and COO Andy Robinson, said “The robust economics from the South West Arkansas Project PFS showcase its incredible potential. Our exploration program in the first half of this year yielded significantly improved lithium concentrations and grew the total resource to 1.8 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. The upgraded resource underpins an operating life of at least 20 years at competitive costs.
Our team has also been hard at work at our Demonstration Plant at the Lanxess South Facility in El Dorado, processing approximately 14 million gallons of Smackover brine to date and successfully extracting lithium. We now have a well-tested direct lithium extraction (DLE) process, and we successfully converted our DLE product into battery-quality lithium hydroxide. This start-to-finish proven process, combined with an improved resource at SWA, positions the Project to be a meaningful contributor to U.S. lithium supply within this decade.
Standard Lithium's pioneering work in the Smackover Formation and strong results of the SWA PFS solidifies the region’s status as North America's premiere lithium brine resource," commented Standard Lithium CEO Robert Mintak. "Our mission is to boost domestic lithium production through a phased development approach. Starting with the Lanxess 1A project, we aim to deliver the first new lithium production facility in the U.S., with results from a Feasibility Study to be reported shortly. These encouraging outcomes from SWA, along with our initiatives in East Texas, underscore the need for simultaneous advancements within our project portfolio, as we are dedicated to leading the region into becoming a key player in America's lithium supply chain."
The South West Arkansas Project is located approximately 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of the City of Magnolia in Columbia County, south western Arkansas. It encompasses approximately 27,262 net lease acres in Columbia and Lafayette counties and forms the updated 2023 Upper Smackover Indicated and Middle Smackover Inferred resource of 1.4 Mt and 0.4 Mt LCE, respectively, at an average lithium concentration of 437 mg/L.1 The Project is easily accessible via a paved highway and extensive regional infrastructure including: water, power, gas and rail. The region’s rich history of operating oil and gas assets supports the local workforce pool. The Company is targeting construction to begin in 2025 and production to commence in 2027, subject to continuing project definition, due diligence, available financing and receipt of future feasibility studies.