Grounded Lithium Corp (GLC) has signed a lithium processing test work program agreement with Koch Technology Solutions (KTS) to determine the efficacy of KTS’s proprietary Li-Pro™ technology for direct lithium extraction (DLE) on brine from the company’s properties in Canada.

Under the agreement, GLC’s brine will be processed using KTS’s proprietary Li-Pro technology at a Koch Engineered Solutions (KES) location in Pickering, Ontario, Canada.

KTS is developing and leveraging synergistic technologies such as membrane filtration, ion exchange, evaporation, drying and more to provide an optimised DLE solution. KTS, Grounded Lithium says, has decades of experience in the development and transfer of advantaged technologies and will apply these capabilities working with GLC during this testing phase.

The selection of KTS for brine extraction testing and evaluation is in line with the company’s previous communications involving its engagement with Hatch Ltd and the process to screen a number of diverse potential DLE technologies. The selection of KTS, and a soon to be announced second candidate, stems from extensive and deliberate screening procedures conducted by Hatch and GLC’s internal expertise. The Koch agreement’s scope includes brine characterisation and pre-treatment, followed by scoping lithium loading, washing and elution testing.

The results from the agreement are expected to be completed in the next 6-8 weeks. Upon a review of these results, GLC plans to make a final selection of the optimum extraction technology which will form part of the preliminary economic assessment (PEA), expected to be filed by the end of the June quarter.

Gregg Smith, President & CEO of GLC, said: “GLC remains committed to our vision to build a commercial resource project by leveraging the technical expertise of those focused on extraction technology. We are delighted to be working with KTS to assess their Li-Pro process to determine if it supports our commerciality objective. Koch is a world-renowned company and we look forward to potentially partnering with entities such as Koch which provide scale, scope, expertise and credibility.”

Adam Sackett, KTS President, added: “We are thrilled to be selected as a potential lithium extraction solution for Grounded’s lithium operations. At KTS, we are committed to developing advantaged technologies and see the potential to apply our expertise to a growing global critical minerals industry for the benefit of our stakeholders. We look forward to conducting this evaluation and are confident our process will yield positive results leading to a mutually beneficial technology partnership.”