Could you provide a brief introduction of Century Lithium and the Clayton Valley asset?

Century Lithium is an advanced-stage lithium company based in Canada, with a focus on developing its 100%-owned Clayton Valley lithium project in Nevada. The company is currently in the pilot stage of testing extraction and production through the production of lithium carbonate from its lithium-bearing claystone deposit. It is also progressing towards completing a Feasibility Study (FS) and permitting to become a domestic producer of lithium for the growing electric vehicle and battery storage market.

What are the upcoming catalysts for the Clayton Valley asset?

We are nearing the completion of the FS, which we expect to be finished by Q2 2023, along with the completion of all engineering parts. The last critical component of the project is the chlor-alkali plant. ThyssenKrupp nucera has been engaged to work on this part of the study due to their reputation and expertise. Once the FS is completed, we will start the permitting process with the BLM and State of Nevada, undergo the NEPA process, and carry out an EIS. We will gather more information to receive a Record of Decision with the federal government to grant us our mining license. We expect this process to occur within the next couple of years.

Can you provide more details on your extraction approach and ESG focus?

Our extraction approach involves a series of steps related to ion exchange, known as DLE. Initially, we break down the clay in a high-speed mill and move this slurry into leach tanks. We add hydrochloric acid, extract lithium from the clay, clean the tailings, and then raise the pH. The solution is filtered and passed through our DLE process, which is unique and leads to a 99.5% recovery of the lithium extracted from the clay at this point. Our process is energy-dependent, but we have the advantage of using salt brine as the feedstock to the chlor-alkali plant. After exiting the DLE process, we have a high sodium chloride solution that we purify and feed into the plant. We are located in an excellent position for potential solar and geothermal power generation and are looking at those solutions to meet our ESG goals.

How will Clayton Valley contribute to the lithium market?

The US is predicted to need 650,000 t/y of lithium carbonate over the next seven years, which is more than what the world currently produces. The Defense Production Act and the Inflation Reduction Act are strong indicators of federal-level support for projects like ours. Our target production is 20-30,000 t/y of LCE, and our project alone could support a gigawatt factory.

What role can Nevada play in leading the lithium charge?

Nevada holds the largest lithium resource in the US, with about 10 million tons of contained lithium and 50 million tons of LCE on a world scale, putting Nevada third behind Bolivia and Argentina according to USGS numbers. The issue now is converting these resources into reserves and production. Nevada is well-positioned, and several projects will come into production in the next couple of years.

What is your outlook for lithium project funding?

The decline in all stocks in the lithium space last year was not an indicator of the industry’s potential. Moving into 2023 and seeing new stability, investments will increase, particularly from ESG-centric and green-energy-oriented funds, along with more offtake agreements. All of these factors will build a good environment for project financing going forward.