Tag Archives: Piedmont Lithium

Atlantic Lithium brings in Primero for FEED flowsheet services at Ewoyaa

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Atlantic Lithium has awarded the processing plant front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for its Ewoyaa lithium project in Ghana to Primero Group.

Under the terms of the agreement, Primero will provide services to optimise the project’s flowsheet, identify long lead items, look to maximise the project’s long-term profitability, reduce execution risk and ultimately support the advancement of the project towards becoming a financially and operationally robust lithium-producing mine, Atlantic Lithium said.

The value of the contract is $980,000; the consideration of which is to be paid in accordance with the three-stage earn- in agreement the company has with Piedmont Lithium Inc to fund the project towards production. This could see Piedmont invest up to $103 million in the project to eventually deliver a 1.5-2 Mt/y run of mine operation for a 27.5% stake in Atlantic Lithium’s Ghana portfolio.

Primero, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NRW Holdings Limited, specialises in the design, construction and operation of global resource projects. The group has extensive experience in delivering large-scale construction contracts, including in the lithium industry and in West Africa, demonstrating significant expertise, versatility and competence, Atlantic Lithium says.

Primero, the company says, has provided services for a number of lithium projects with comparable flowsheets to Ewoyaa’s, including Bald Hill (Tawana Resources), Pilgangoora (Pilbara Minerals), Finniss Lithium (Core Lithium), Mt Holland (Covalent Lithium) and Xuxa (Sigma Lithium).

Following the recent completion of the 47,000 m resource and exploration drilling program at the Ewoyaa project, Atlantic Lithium is currently working towards producing an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE), intended to be announced in the March quarter of 2023. The updated MRE will then be used to support a definitive feasibility study, expected to be completed by mid-2023.

Piedmont looks at IPCC, Metso Outotec alkaline pressure leach for lithium project

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Piedmont Lithium’s plan to build out an integrated lithium hydroxide business from a base in North Carolina, USA, has advanced with the release of a scoping study that, it says, confirms that Carolina Lithium will be one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost producers of lithium hydroxide with a “superior” sustainability footprint.

Piedmont Carolina Lithium contemplates a single, integrated site, comprising quarrying, spodumene concentration, by-products processing, and spodumene conversion to lithium hydroxide at its site in Gaston County. There are currently no such integrated sites operating anywhere in the world, with the company saying the economic and environmental advantages of this strategy are compelling.

The latest study outlined a production target of around 4.96 Mt of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate (SC6), averaging approximately 248,000 t/y of SC6 over the 20-year mine life. This equates to an average of 1.95 Mt/y of ore processed, totalling some 37.4 Mt of run-of-mine ore at an average grade of 1.09% Li2O (undiluted) over the 20-year mine life.

Of the total production target of 4.96 Mt of SC6, some 1.19 Mt will be sold to third parties during the operational life and approximately 3.77 Mt will be supplied to Piedmont’s chemical plant operations for conversion into lithium hydroxide. This results in a total production target of about 582,000 t of lithium hydroxide, averaging approximately 29,095 t/y of lithium hydroxide over 20 years, the company said. The study also assumes production targets of 4.83 Mt of quartz concentrate, 7.51 Mt of feldspar concentrate, and 1.34 Mt of mica concentrate over the life of operations.

Piedmont envisages a total initial capital cost of $838.6 million for the project and an after-tax net present value (8% discount) of $1.92 billion.

While still very much preliminary, the flowsheet and mining process for this planned operation is of interest to any lithium developer looking for a ‘sustainable’ mining footprint.

The company currently envisages using a Metso Outotec alkaline pressure leach process as part of its plan. This will reduce emissions, eliminate sulphuric acid roasting and reduce solid waste, it said.

At the same time, in-pit crushing and conveyor systems are on the agenda, eliminating mining trucks in the study to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

Piedmont has also been working with a solar developer to build and operate a solar farm on Piedmont property capable of producing electricity to supply up to 100% of Piedmont needs.

The company will also co-locate all operations on the same proposed site in Gaston County to minimise any transit and allow unused by-product streams to be repurposed for site redevelopment, it said. This adds up, Piedmont says, to highly efficient land and water use compared with South American lithium brine production.

Keith D Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont, said: “We are exceedingly pleased with the results of our updated scoping study. The economics of our project continue to impress, but I am particularly proud of the project’s sustainability profile.

“As we move forward to complete a definitive feasibility study for Carolina Lithium later in 2021, Piedmont has engaged Evercore and JPMorgan as financial advisors to evaluate potential strategic partnering and financing options for its North Carolina project. Given the project’s unique position as the only American spodumene project, with world-class scale, economics, and sustainability, we expect strategic interest to be robust.

Piedmont enlists Primero and Marshall Miller for lithium concentrate DFS

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Piedmont Lithium has awarded the definitive feasibility study (DFS) of its planned spodumene concentrate operations in North Carolina, USA, to a combined team including Primero Group and Marshall Miller & Associates.

Marshall Miller is to lead quarry design activities, while Primero will advance the concentrator design, infrastructure design, and be responsible for overall study management, Piedmont said.

The study will target production of 160,000 t/y of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate, as well as co-products including quartz and feldspar. It will include the results of the pilot test work currently ongoing at SGS Canada, which will involve “dense medium and flotation” pilot work.

Piedmont expects to complete the study on its namesake project in mid-2021 and pursue an investment decision for the concentrate operations shortly after.

At the same time, Piedmont says it is looking into developing an integrated lithium hydroxide business in North Carolina, with a planned lithium chemical plant DFS to commence in the March quarter.

Earlier in 2020, Piedmont entered a memorandum of understanding with Primero Group related to delivering the planned spodumene concentrator at the Piedmont lithium project. The two have partnered since early 2018, with Primero having been the lead engineering consultant for Piedmont’s scoping studies, concentrator design, and metallurgical test work management.

Piedmont has engaged Marshall Miller, based in Bluefield, Virginia, since 2018 to advance mine design, permitting activities, survey, geotechnical study, waste rock and tailings storage design, and other engineering support services.

Piedmont Lithium enlists SGS Canada for pilot-scale spodumene work

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Piedmont Lithium has agreed to partner with SGS Canada in Lakefield, Ontario, to complete a pilot-scale spodumene concentrator program at its namesake project in North Carolina, USA.

The company collected over 50 t of mineralised pegmatite from 17 locations across its core properties in February. These near-surface samples were from locations representing early, middle and late-stage planned production at the development.

Piedmont said the pilot plant design will be based on the results of prior test work programs and will be used to support both the definitive feasibility study (DFS) of the company’s planned concentrate operations, as well as detailed design engineering of full-scale operations.

The pilot program will target production of a large sample of spodumene concentrate with at least 6% Li2O and less than 1% Fe2O3 for use in future pilot-scale lithium hydroxide test work programs that Piedmont intends to complete as part of the DFS of its planned integrated lithium chemical plant. The tests will involve “dense medium and flotation” pilot work, Piedmont said.

The ASX-listed company said this test work is a “critical step in ensuring future commissioning and ramp-up success” at the project.

“Additionally, the bulk sample collected targeted a range of potential concentrator feed conditions, including low-grade zones and diluted feed,” the company said. “Testing variable conditions rather than an optimised feed will help inform engineering design and eliminate potential operational bottlenecks during the project design phase.”

Keith Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer of Piedmont, said: “The program will enable Piedmont to complete future lithium hydroxide test work programs and also supply large sample of spodumene to our key customer, Tesla, for their own testing purposes.”

The prefeasibility study on the Piedmont lithium project, released earlier this year, envisaged two options – a “Merchant” project and an “Integrated” project. Both included an annual average lithium hydroxide production (steady-state) of 22,720 t, but only the latter included 160,000 t/y of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate production over the 25-year mine life.

Piedmont locks in Primero for lithium concentrator development

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Piedmont Lithium has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Primero Group that could see the Australia-based engineering firm deliver the planned spodumene concentrator at the Piedmont lithium project in North Carolina, USA.

Piedmont says it and Primero have partnered since early 2018, with Primero having been the lead engineering consultant for Piedmont’s scoping studies, concentrator design, and metallurgical test work management.

“Building on this strong relationship, Piedmont and Primero have entered into the MoU to work together on an exclusive basis to agree binding documentation relating to the definitive feasibility study (DFS), front-end engineering design, EPC (engineering procurement and construction) delivery, commissioning, ramp-up and contract operations of the spodumene concentrator,” Piedmont said.

Referencing previous work of Primero’s, Piedmont said the engineering firm’s EPC and contract operations services at Alliance Minerals’ Bald Hill mine, in Australia, notably achieved nameplate capacity within two months of plant commissioning.

Cameron Henry, Managing Director of Primero, commented: “Piedmont is a world-class project surrounded by infrastructure and ideally located near potential customers in the USA’s auto alley.

“We look forward to applying our specialist expertise in project implementation and operations to assist Piedmont in advancing the only spodumene project currently under development in the United States.”

Keith D Phillips, President and CEO of Piedmont, said the MoU represented a key milestone as the company builds out its project execution team, “with an emphasis on working with proven processes and experienced professionals”.

The EPC and operations contract models contemplated by the MOU provide incentives for Primero to achieve safety, schedule, budget, process performance, production, and recovery targets, Piedmont said.

“The arrangements contemplated by the MoU create a delivery framework which significantly reduces technical, operational and commercial risks associated with the concentrator,” it added.

“The company continues to evaluate other strategic partnerships that could enhance performance in the design, construction and operations of other aspects of Piedmont’s integrated lithium hydroxide business.”

The prefeasibility study on the Piedmont lithium project, released earlier this year, envisaged two options – a “Merchant” project and an “Integrated” project. Both included an annual average lithium hydroxide production (steady-state) of 22,720 t, but only the latter included 160,000 t/y of 6% Li2O spodumene concentrate production over the 25-year mine life.

Micromine modelling boosts Piedmont lithium project resource base

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Piedmont Lithium has become the latest US-focused exploration company to use Micromine modelling to refine its mineral resource estimate – reporting a 47% increase in the process.

The company is on track to own the US’ largest spodumene orebody, located in the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, in North Carolina, after increasing the mineral resource estimate to 27.9 Mt grading 1.11% Li2O, with further drilling to come, MICROMINE said.

The Piedmont lithium project is located along trend to the Hallman Beam and Kings Mountain mines, historically providing most of the western world’s lithium from the 1950s through the 1980s.

A scoping study on the project envisaged production of 22,700 t/y of lithium hydroxide over an initial 13-year mine life. This would involve a staged development to minimise up-front capital requirements and equity dilution, with stage 1 coming in at $109 million for the mine/concentrator and by-product circuits. Stage 2, for the chemical plant, would be funded largely by internal cash flow, the company said.

An estimated 74% of the mineral resource is located within 100 m of surface, while some 97% of the resource lies within 150 m of surface, according to MICROMINE. To date, drilling on the project’s 1,004 acre (406 ha) core property consists of 326 holes totaling 51,047 m, with the mineral resource estimate using all 326 holes. In general, drill spacing has ranged between 40 – 80 m, according to Piedmont.

Wireframe models of some 95 pegmatite dykes, a diabase dyke and one fault were created in Micromine by joining polygon interpretations made on cross sections and level plans spaced at 40 m. Weathering profiles, representing the base of saprolite and overburden, were modelled based on drill hole geological logging and a topographic digital terrain model was derived from a 2003 survey, MICROMINE said.

Micromine is an exploration and mine design solution offering integrated tools for modelling, estimation, design, optimisation and scheduling. It provides users with an in-depth understanding of their projects, so prospective regions can be targeted more accurately, increasing the chance of success, MICROMINE says.

The latest version of MICROMINE’s exploration and mine design solution, Micromine 2018, comprises 10 modules. “As a scalable and flexible solution, Micromine 2018 provides you with the flexibility to choose the functionality you need when you need it. Additionally, the application’s new 64-bit support means that you can work with more data than ever before,” the company said.

Micromine’s wireframing module enables very accurate models to be created that can be further analysed and interpreted to produce a precise estimation that aligns with industry codes of practice and standards, the company said.

Piedmont Lithium expects to complete its prefeasibility level metallurgical test work program, followed by a scoping study update, this month, MICROMINE reported.