Lithium developer pushes forward on Clearwater project

Alberta Innovates has earmarked $500,000 for E3 Metals Corp.,an emerging lithium developer, following the completion of the company’s lab pilot prototype development.

“We are very excited about this development,” says Chris Doornbos, CEO of E3 Metals Corp. “The support from Alberta Innovates has been fundamental in moving this new, Alberta based technology, towards commercialization. The team at E3 Metals has been working diligently to advance this technology towards a field pilot and we look forward to further developments this year on that path.”

The company announced the successful progressive scale-up of its DLE technology earlier in October 2021, and the results of the first round of tests in January of this year.

To receive this funding, Alberta Innovates reviews the development and progress report on Milestone 1: the successful construction and operation of a lab-based pilot prototype.

Including this tranche, E3 Metals has received $1.1 million to date of the $1.8 million grant. The final milestone payment for the company is to design, construct, commission and operate a field pilot plant and is subject to approval by Alberta Innovates. The field pilot will operate continuously within the Clearwater resource area designed to extract lithium directly from the brine produced from the Leduc Aquifer.

By demonstrating the process in the field at a near commercial scale over an extended period, the company plans to significantly de-risk its ion-exchange technology and Clearwater project prior to scaling up to the anticipated commercial scale of 20,000 tonnes/year lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

(CNW)