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Released May 21, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--According to Arizona Lithium (West Perth, Australia), the company's Prairie project in Saskatchewan, Canada, is one of the first lithium brine projects in North America to obtain approval for initial production. Approval was granted earlier this week by Saskatchewan's Ministry of Energy and Resources for production from the plant's Phase I construction. The commercial-scale unit provides a blueprint of scaling up output from the project in subsequent phases of construction.
Arizona Lithium's Saskatchewan facility uses direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology from lithium-containing brines that will produce 150 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year.
The company seems to have found a more productive drilling area than originally thought. Along with news of the production approval, Arizona Lithium revealed that based on a 2024 drilling program, the estimated indicated resource contains 4.6 million tons of LCE, an increase that lifted production from 7,700 tons per year in a prefeasibility study to 17,000 tons per year of LCE.
After a positive final investment decision on the project, work commenced on Pad 1 construction in the first half of 2024. Subsequent phases of construction could last into the early 2030s, although the project's exact timeline may be reexamined in light of the increased production estimates from the mine. Pad 1 will be the proving grounds for development of at least two other drilling pads. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Saskatchewan's Minister for Energy and Resources Colleen Young said of the approval: "Over the past five years, there has been significant investment in lithium exploration and mineral acquisitions in Saskatchewan. As a result, we have learned that southeast Saskatchewan hosts the highest-grade lithium brines in Canada. The Prairie lithium project has led the charge in resource and process developments, and we are pleased to see it reach this milestone."
The Prairie development is located near Torquay in Saskatchewan, very close to the province's southern border with North Dakota, providing good access to existing infrastructure, including rail lines, paved highways, electricity and natural gas.
With the Prairie development becoming more firmly rooted in place with expansions now on the table, Arizona Lithium can perhaps devote more time to a burgeoning lithium development in the U.S. The Big Sandy mine in Arizona will not use the DLE process to obtain lithium, but will be an open-pit mine. The property is located near Wikieup, in western Arizona, roughly halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas. Arizona Lithium has made an agreement with Cemvita Factory Incorporated (Houston, Texas) to use Cemvita's extraction process, which employs engineered microbes to extract lithium from clay and sedimentary materials. A pilot plant will initially test this extraction technique. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
The Big Sandy project remains in the early days, with construction not expected to begin until 2029. The open-pit method of mining will be entirely different from the in-situ brine processing at the Saskatchewan facility. While the DLE process employed at Saskatchewan is considered more environmentally friendly and efficient than methods employing traditional evaporation ponds, Cemvita says its extraction technique boasts a lower carbon footprint than others. Endolith, one of Cemvita's subsidiaries, received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the optimization and enhancement of its technology.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Arizona Lithium's Saskatchewan facility uses direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology from lithium-containing brines that will produce 150 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year.
The company seems to have found a more productive drilling area than originally thought. Along with news of the production approval, Arizona Lithium revealed that based on a 2024 drilling program, the estimated indicated resource contains 4.6 million tons of LCE, an increase that lifted production from 7,700 tons per year in a prefeasibility study to 17,000 tons per year of LCE.
After a positive final investment decision on the project, work commenced on Pad 1 construction in the first half of 2024. Subsequent phases of construction could last into the early 2030s, although the project's exact timeline may be reexamined in light of the increased production estimates from the mine. Pad 1 will be the proving grounds for development of at least two other drilling pads. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Saskatchewan's Minister for Energy and Resources Colleen Young said of the approval: "Over the past five years, there has been significant investment in lithium exploration and mineral acquisitions in Saskatchewan. As a result, we have learned that southeast Saskatchewan hosts the highest-grade lithium brines in Canada. The Prairie lithium project has led the charge in resource and process developments, and we are pleased to see it reach this milestone."
The Prairie development is located near Torquay in Saskatchewan, very close to the province's southern border with North Dakota, providing good access to existing infrastructure, including rail lines, paved highways, electricity and natural gas.
With the Prairie development becoming more firmly rooted in place with expansions now on the table, Arizona Lithium can perhaps devote more time to a burgeoning lithium development in the U.S. The Big Sandy mine in Arizona will not use the DLE process to obtain lithium, but will be an open-pit mine. The property is located near Wikieup, in western Arizona, roughly halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas. Arizona Lithium has made an agreement with Cemvita Factory Incorporated (Houston, Texas) to use Cemvita's extraction process, which employs engineered microbes to extract lithium from clay and sedimentary materials. A pilot plant will initially test this extraction technique. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
The Big Sandy project remains in the early days, with construction not expected to begin until 2029. The open-pit method of mining will be entirely different from the in-situ brine processing at the Saskatchewan facility. While the DLE process employed at Saskatchewan is considered more environmentally friendly and efficient than methods employing traditional evaporation ponds, Cemvita says its extraction technique boasts a lower carbon footprint than others. Endolith, one of Cemvita's subsidiaries, received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the optimization and enhancement of its technology.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
