A.I.S. Resources Ltd has completed the mass balance chemistry and process engineering that will be used to determine the raw materials used to purify the lithium brines from its Guayatayoc project in northern Argentina. This process engineering information will be used in the design, engineering, and construction of an 8-10,000 t lithium carbonate plant.

The analysis used fractional crystallization and ion exchange resins to purify the lithium carbonate to higher than 99.5% lithium carbonate. The work was conducted in Salta and will be replicated at Guayatayoc at a later stage to ensure that the reduction in air pressure has no material impact.

The project is located in Jujuy Province along highway 11, 15 km from the town of Abralaite in the Puna plateau at 3,412 m. The completion of this work allows the project team led by Phil Thomas, COO to focus on drilling, and production geohydrology when permits are issued.

This concentrate will be converted into lithium carbonate samples for customers globally to begin qualifying AIS’s lithium products. Samples will be provided to those companies that have expressed interest in buying the lithium carbonate for their assessment.  The pilot plants we have access to have a production capacity of approximately 500kg per week.  Full sample production will commence in the new year.

Thomas stated: “This is a significant milestone we’ve achieved. We now have proof of process, that can be scaled up to 10,000 t. The data we have is extremely valuable covering all the phases in the process, and after pumping tests are completed will allow us to go to design, engineering and construction. We are making good progress on our drilling application and will commence drilling Guayatayoc as soon as it is granted. Having immediate access to large pilot plants and a laboratory has saved many hours of downtime and allowed us to complete raw material calculations and manage various brine concentrations. We are delighted with our results.”