Rio Tinto has approved an earmark of $2.5 billion to expand the capacity of its Rincon lithium project in Argentina to 60,000 tonnes per year. Rincon is the company’s first commercial-scale lithium operation; that capacity is comprised of the 3,000-tonne starter plant and 57,000-tonne expansion plant. Rincon’s mine life is expected to be 40 years, with construction of the expanded…
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Water tech company Gradiant has announced partnerships with SLB, Rio Tinto and an undisclosed global miner to improve productivity and sustainability in the mining industry with a focus on reducing carbon and water footprints. Projects in the United States and Western Australia will focus on resource recovery of critical minerals and industrial process water. Gradiant’s collaborations with SLB and the…
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Albemarle said it aims to expand its lithium operations in Chile’s Atacama salt flat as early as 2028 with direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology under a current government contract, reported Reuters. “Depending on environmental and other permits needed in Chile, as well as scaling technologies, we believe [DLE] should be implemented, if everything goes well, towards 2028 or 2029,” Chilean…
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Pure Energy Minerals and partner SLB have received all of the needed key permit approvals for the construction and operation of a direct lithium extraction (DLE) pilot plant at the Clayton Valley lithium brine project in Esmeralda County, Nev. Full story.
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Standard Lithium said the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued Notices of Allowance for two of three pending U.S. patent applications for elements of its innovative Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) processes. Read full article.
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