Over the past three years, E3 Lithium has conducted two major operational campaigns to collect detailed information about the reservoir and the Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) processes.
Drilling Operations - 2022
E3 Lithium drilled the first-in-Alberta brine production well for the purposes of evaluating lithium in the summer of 2022. The well, 102/1-16-33-27W4, achieved a total depth (TD) of 2670 mKB, retrieved brine samples from five zones within the ~200m thick Leduc reservoir, confirming the anticipated lithium grade. A production test, where the well was pumped at 400m3/d of brine to surface for five days, provided E3 Lithium with important reservoir characterization data to support the commercial viability of producing lithium. An injection test followed, reinjecting the brine in less than two days at a rate of ~1,200m3/d, demonstrating injectivity capacity, a cornerstone of E3 Lithium’s environmentally sustainable development plan. The test had additional benefits, providing Leduc brine for Direct Lithium Extraction technology testing and special core analysis. Using produced brine for testing increased confidence in the overall process design basis, supporting project development.
E3 Lithium’s second well, 102/16-13-031-27W4, located close to 20 kilometres southeast of the first well, was drilled and tested in late summer 2022. The well achieved a total depth of 2720 mKb and retrieved brine samples from three zones within the Leduc, again confirming anticipated lithium grade.
E3 Lithium acquired a third-party well from a neighboring oil and gas producer, 100/4-27-033-28W4, in lieu of drilling their planned third evaluation well. The well had been recently drilled, had good wellbore integrity and intersected the entire Leduc reservoir, all key considerations which enabled E3 Lithium to repurpose the existing infrastructure, thereby reducing environmental impact.
Field DLE Pilot Plant - 2023
E3 Lithium conducted a Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Pilot Plant project at near-commercial scale operating as close to real world operations as possible. Located east of Olds and north of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, the pilot began operations in the summer of 2023 and paused operations in November 2023 after the successful testing of E3 Lithium's proprietary DLE and a third-party system.
The Field Pilot Plant represented a significant step forward in the development of more sustainable lithium extraction technologies, with the potential to transform the lithium production industry.
Field Pilot Plant Success
The test results produced at E3 Lithium's 2023 DLE Field Pilot Plant exceeded all Key Performance Indicators outlined below. Results produced via one test run included:
- 94% lithium recovery
- 80.1% and 909.0 mg/L lithium grade in the lithium product stream
- Flow rate ratio of 9
The production of high-quality concentrate at relatively high flow rates enables E3 to proceed with developing lithium in Alberta. Review the detailed results of one third party DLE system and the results of E3's proprietary DLE technology.
Key Performance Indicators
E3 Lithium measured the success of the field pilot plant against the KPIs below.
| Success Criteria |
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) |
Description |
| Lithium recovery |
≥ 80% |
Mass of lithium recovered from the mass of lithium in the feed |
| Lithium grade in the lithium product stream |
≥ 25% |
Concentration of lithium relative to other impurities (Na+K+Ca+Mg+Mn+Sr+B) |
| ≥ 600 mg/L |
Concentration of lithium in the lithium product stream |
| Flow rate ratio |
≥ 3 |
Brine flow rate divided by the system volumetric capacity |
Lithium Recovery: The basis for including ≥ 80% lithium recovery is that it enables E3 Lithium to maximize the value of each unit of brine brought to surface.
Lithium Concentrate Quality: The quality of the product stream, or concentrate, containing lithium ≥ 600 mg/L with low impurities (≥ than 25% lithium in the product stream) outlines a high lithium to impurity ratio that enables simplified and conventional downstream refining into battery quality lithium hydroxide.
Flow Rate: The flow rate ratio is a measure of the rate at which the lithium can be extracted from the brine within a fixed capacity. The higher the ratio, the smaller the DLE commercial plant required, which is a proxy for the capital costs of this system.
