Lithium Power International (LPI) is a pure-play lithium company which is commencing the development of the sustainable and high-grade Maricunga project at a time when environmentally conscious global industries are eagerly seeking clean energy sources to combat climate change.
The company’s diverse asset base also includes hard rock lithium projects in Western Australia, the world’s largest producer, thanks to many new lithium mines and processing plants being developed there to supply strong global demand. Consideration is being given to listing shares in this business on the Australian Securities Exchange to advance these local development projects and allow LPI to focus on lithium mining opportunities in Chile.
LPI has been the sole owner of the Maricunga project since consolidating the interests of its joint venture partners late in 2022. Salar Blanco LLC, with 31.31%, and Bearing Lithium, with 17.14%, agreed to sell their Maricunga shares to provide an ownership structure best suited to develop and manage the project. It also simplifies and de-risks the funding pathway by enhancing the provision of development capital from a wider range of sources.
Maricunga brine samples are extremely pure
In reaching this advanced stage, LPI updated the project’s Definitive Feasibility Study to include important upgrades to planned production processes. Samples of brine from Maricunga have been processed to 99.92% purity, significantly exceeding industry standard specifications for battery-grade lithium carbonate of 99.5%. The project will be developed to produce an average of 15,200 tonnes per year of highly pure lithium carbonate. Additional water rights were recently bought to cover all the freshwater needed for the Maricunga project. Annual production will not be committed to any party via an off-take agreement at this stage, thus providing a key element to the future supply of battery-grade lithium.
Canaccord is managing the project financing process so that development can commence. Strong interest has been received from parties for the provision of equity and debt, including from strategic investors and government bodies. There has also been interest in an outright acquisition. Several parties have completed due diligence, and various discussions are underway regarding what form their participation may be.
Lithium mining in Maricunga will benefit the local community
Critical to the success of the Maricunga lithium mining project is LPI’s close relationships with the indigenous and local communities on whose land the development is sited. Directors of LPI were directly involved in finalising an agreement with these people. Indeed, MSB was the first company in Chile to establish such an accord. LPI’s principles are based on respecting the customs and culture of these communities, which will receive part of the benefit via a royalty in the project to be paid throughout its life span.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
- Project development
- Brine extraction of high-quality lithium and potassium
- Lithium optimisation
- Drilling programmes
- Drainable Porosity and Brine Chemistry Analysis (external)
- Production wells and pump testing
- Hard rock exploration
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Lithium Mining
- Lithium
- Minerals
- Environmental Sustainability
