Tag Archives: Jeremy Wrathall

Cornish Lithium opens UK’s first low-emission, lithium hydroxide demo plant

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , ,

Cornish Lithium has opened the UK’s first low-emission, lithium hydroxide Demonstration Plant, marking, it says, a significant milestone in the UK’s transition to clean power by 2030.

The new facility forms part of Cornish Lithium’s Trelavour Hard Rock project in Cornwall, which will reduce the UK’s reliance on carbon-intensive, imported lithium by extracting supplies of this critical mineral domestically in a sustainable manner. From 2027, the project targets production of 10,000 t/y of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. When combined with Cornish Lithium’s geothermal lithium projects, this creates a 2030 planned total of 25,000 t/y of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), meaning that Cornish Lithium alone expects to provide around 25% of all of the lithium needed by UK industry.

This demonstrates the industrial scale of the UK’s lithium potential and reinforces the sector’s call to government to set a domestic national extraction target of 50,000 t/y by 2030.

Trelavour has been designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project by the UK Government. This is in recognition of the scale of the project and the economic and growth impact it will have on businesses nationwide through the domestic extraction, processing and use of lithium. In Cornwall specifically, it is forecast that Cornish Lithium will contribute a GVA of at least £800 million ($1.04 billion) to the local economy and create over 300 Cornwall-based jobs from 2027 over the life of the project.

The Demonstration Plant takes lithium-enriched granite, mined from a former china clay pit revitalised by Cornish Lithium, and processes it to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide using the Lepidico processing technology. Cornish Lithium has the exclusive right in the St Austell region to use the technology, which is expected to reduce carbon emissions by at least 40% compared to hard rock lithium mining elsewhere in the world.

The new Demonstration Plant has been funded as part of an investment package from a group of leading institutional investors led by the former UK Infrastructure Bank which has now become the National Wealth Fund, alongside The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet. The hydrometallurgical section of the Demonstration Plant has also been partially funded via a grant from the UK Government via the Automotive Transformation Fund’s Scale up Readiness Validation program.

Jeremy Wrathall, CEO, Interim Chairman and Founder of Cornish Lithium, said: “Lithium is critically important to the manufacturing of electric vehicles, grid scale electricity storage and rechargeable industrial and consumer electronics. By 2030, it is expected that the UK will need circa-110,000 t of lithium carbonate equivalent.

“The UK currently imports 100% of the lithium it uses, yet we’re home to the largest lithium resource in Europe with enough beneath our feet in Cornwall to supply over half of what the electric vehicle industry needs. This is a huge untapped advantage that is currently being wasted, when it could be making our industries more competitive and resilient to global supply chain volatility. At Cornish Lithium, we want to turn that around to provide a stable supply of critical minerals needed for the UK’s new battery industry to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.

“The opening of the Demonstration Plant is a landmark moment for Cornish Lithium as this means we can now confirm at a semi-industrial scale the viability of extracting lithium from the mica mineralisation found in Cornwall. Located less than one kilometre from the mine site, we will be able to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide on a single, integrated site, without the need for further carbon-intensive shipping or refining.”

Cornish Lithium’s Trelavour Hard Rock project is just one element of Cornwall’s critical minerals potential. The company is also pioneering the extraction of lithium from geothermal waters that run deep beneath the county’s surface, with the potential by-product of carbon-free heat energy. Cornish Lithium believes that this is a low-impact, highly innovative opportunity that potentially extends across the whole of Cornwall. The company has therefore secured extensive mineral rights agreements across Cornwall in order to maximise this opportunity and develop a major new industry based on the extraction of lithium and geothermal heat energy.

“Domestic lithium extraction is an industrial-scale asset to the UK and our launch of Britain’s first lithium hydroxide Demonstration Plant near St Austell demonstrates that this environmentally responsible modern industry is moving forward,” Jeremy Wrathall concludes.

Cornish Lithium engages Ai Process Systems for hydromet work on TreLith demo plant

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Cornish Lithium says it has engaged Ai Process Systems Limited, one of the UK’s leading specialist process engineering consultancies, to provide detailed engineering, procurement, supply and manufacture, installation and commissioning services (EPCC) for the hydrometallurgical section of the demonstration scale processing plant at the company’s TreLith Processing Site associated with the Trelavour hard-rock lithium project near St Austell, in the UK.

The hydrometallurgical section of the demonstration plant will use the patented Lepidico L-Max® and LOH-Max® processing technologies, which Cornish Lithium has an exclusive licence for to produce lithium hydroxide. These elements of the plant are being partly funded through a £1.8 million ($1.92 million) grant from Innovate UK through the Automotive Transformation Fund’s Scale up Readiness Validation competition.

The plant is expected to produce commercial samples of lithium hydroxide for evaluation by end users, such as battery producers and automotive OEMs. In addition, it will produce samples of by-products such as gypsum, sulphate of potash, caesium and rubidium sulphate alum. The company has already undertaken detailed metallurgical testing of these processes at pilot scale but will now build a demonstration-scale plant to validate the scale up and commercial viability of the technology, it said.

Jeremy Wrathall, CEO and Founder of Cornish Lithium, said: “We are delighted to be working with Ai Process as one of the UK’s leading specialist process engineering consultancies. Our Trelavour project team has developed a strong relationship with the team at Ai Process and we look forward to collaborating with them to successfully deliver the demonstration plant.

“The demonstration plant will not only provide further validation of Lepidico’s processing technology but will also provide key operational data to inform and enable the construction of a commercial-scale plant. This work will be key to developing a secure domestic supply of lithium from Cornwall to support the development of a resilient electric vehicle supply chain for the British automotive industry.”

Alan Parry, Managing Director of Ai Process, said: “It is a privilege to be working with Cornish Lithium on such a prestigious engineering project, which we believe is the first of its kind in the UK. This kind of lithium extraction process will form part of the next ‘industrial revolution’ in the renewables sector and we are proud to be working alongside a progressive company at the forefront of this new technology.

“Both companies have worked extremely hard together over the last year, making this project possible, we therefore look forward to delivering a successful engineering installation for both our companies, from our base near Burnley in Lancashire, to the beautiful surrounds of Cornwall.”

GeoCubed commissions Direct Lithium Extraction Pilot Plant in Cornwall

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GeoCubed Ltd, a subsidiary of Cornish Lithium, has successfully commissioned and delivered the Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Pilot Plant at Cornish Lithium’s Geothermal Waters Test Facility at United Downs in Cornwall, England.

The DLE Pilot Plant has been designed to process Cornish geothermal waters using DLE technologies and is the first time that a DLE system has become operational in the UK. The £4 million ($5.3 million) plant is being supported by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with £2.9 million from the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund.

The Pilot Plant was successfully commissioned at the end of March, on time and on budget.

Initially, the plant will test GeoLith SAS’ Li-Capt® DLE technology and process the 140 cu.m of deep geothermal water successfully obtained during GEL’s testing at its own United Downs site last year. This is expected to confirm that lithium can be produced in Cornwall from geothermal waters, and the Pilot Plant is expected to provide sufficient information to enable the design of a commercial lithium plant in the county.

During the course of 2022, different DLE technologies will be tested using the Pilot Plant with a view to establishing the preferred technology for future DLE plants in Cornwall. The Pilot Plant has been designed to be as flexible as possible and has been constructed in standard 6.1-m containers, enabling relocation to different sites to test new boreholes if required, the company said.

In addition to making pilot plant progress, Cornish Lithium announced that it had reached an agreement with Geothermal Engineering Limited (GEL) to acquire its 10% shareholding in GeoCubed. Following the completion of this transaction, GeoCubed will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cornish Lithium.

Jeremy Wrathall, CEO and Founder of Cornish Lithium, said: “We are delighted to announce that the United Downs DLE pilot plant has been successfully commissioned on time and on budget. This is testament to the hard work and commitment of the GeoCubed team and our technology partners at GeoLith. The Pilot Plant will be a great asset for the company as we work to establish the most appropriate DLE technology with which to process Cornish geothermal waters.”

GeoLith’s LiCapt Direct Lithium Extraction tech to be tested at GeoCubed’s United Downs project

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GeoCubed, the joint venture between Cornish Lithium Ltd and Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL), has announced that GeoLith SAS has been selected to provide its Li-Capt® Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology for GeoCubed’s pilot plant at the United Downs project in Cornwall, England.

GeoLith’s DLE technology was selected for use in the pilot plant following a comprehensive tender process. The £4 million ($5.5 million) plant, being supported by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership with £2.9 million from the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund, is due to be commissioned at United Downs by the end of March 2022.

GeoLith says its Li-Capt DLE technology is compatible with groundwater temperatures of up to 70°C and is able to treat low concentration brines.

During the selection process, GeoCubed and Cornish Lithium engaged with over 10 providers of DLE technologies to evaluate their effectiveness on Cornish geothermal waters. Following the completion of these evaluations, five providers formally tendered their DLE technology for use in the plant. GeoLith’s technology was selected due to the quality of its tender, the effectiveness of its technology, and the company’s ability to design and deliver a pilot plant, Cornish Lithium said.

The pilot plant will be used to process the 140 cu.m of deep geothermal water successfully obtained during GEL’s recent testing at its United Downs site, which will confirm that lithium can be produced in Cornwall from geothermal brine, Cornish Lithium said. The plant is planned to have a nominal capacity of 10 t/y of lithium carbonate equivalent and the results of the pilot are expected to provide sufficient information to enable the design of a commercial lithium plant in Cornwall.

Jeremy Wrathall, CEO and Founder of Cornish Lithium and a Director of GeoCubed, said: “We are delighted to announce that GeoCubed has selected GeoLith’s Li-Capt technology for use in this pilot plant. We have established a good working relationship with the team at GeoLith, who provided a demonstration plant, along with their operations team, to enable us to test their DLE technology on our shallow geothermal water samples in June. This test work provided excellent results and we look forward to working with them.

“The pilot plant being constructed at Cornish Lithium’s test site at United Downs will enable us to demonstrate what modern, low-carbon mineral extraction looks like as well as demonstrating the viability of DLE technology on Cornish geothermal waters. By processing the 140 cu.m of geothermal waters collected from the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project, the pilot plant will provide important data to enable the design and construction of a commercial-scale plant as we work to establish this innovative minerals extraction industry for the benefit of Cornwall and the UK.”

Jean-Philippe Gibaud, CEO and Founder of GeoLith, said: “We are honoured to have been selected to provide our lithium filter technology as the ‘technological enabler’ of this clean lithium mining project, demonstrating the feasibility of sustainable mining for the future. We would like to congratulate GeoCubed on this first semi-industrial lithium brine production facility in Europe.”