Trelavour Hard Rock Lithium Demonstration Plant

059629a1-0b23-4c5a-9a15-5ba93f6936c3

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Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK

£9,923,855

Aug. 31, 2022

Feb. 29, 2024

Cornish Lithium is a mineral exploration and development company focused on the commercial extraction of lithium and other battery metals in Cornwall. The Company has two commercial workstreams in development: 1.) Extraction of lithium from geothermal waters focussed at the recently completed lithium extraction pilot plant at United Downs, near Redruth; and 2.) Lithium extraction from a hard-rock lithium mica deposit at Trelavour, near St Austell.

Cornish Lithium aims to provide a domestic source of lithium and other battery raw materials to the UK automotive sector. The energy transition demands ever increasing amounts of lithium and other critical metals for batteries and electric vehicles and global demand for lithium has already outstripped supply. This has resulted in a worldwide scramble for deposits of lithium which can be commercially exploited. The UK (and Europe as a whole) has no current domestic supply of lithium leaving the UK economy dependent on imports at a time when supply chains are increasingly fractured and uncertain. Cornwall has been identified as offering the potential for large scale lithium production (Source: BGS 1987).

Cornish Lithium is well-placed to develop lithium deposits in Cornwall and aims to produce battery-grade lithium for UK auto manufacturers by 2026\. The project proposed herein seeks to develop a demonstration scale lithium extraction plant at Cornish Lithium's Trelavour Project in Cornwall using patented technology licensed from Australian company Lepidico. The process uses water-based chemistry to remove lithium and other metals from rock to produce battery grade lithium hydroxide and other critical metals. Importantly, the Lepidico technology does not use high-temperature roasting of the rock and operates at moderate temperature and ambient pressure - meaning that it produces significantly lower CO2 emissions per tonne of lithium. A demonstration-scale plant using this technology in Cornwall will provide a platform for Cornish Lithium to scale-up to commercial production of lithium and accelerate the Company's project development plan by at least 18 months.

Cornish Lithium is committed to developing a lithium mine in a sustainable and responsible manner. The proposed demonstration plant will ensure further refinement and validation of the viability of the technology in respect to lithium-bearing ores in Cornwall. It will also facilitate the development of best practices to operate the system in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Furthermore, the demonstration plant will facilitate securing of finance for the full-scale project, which will be a significant capital investment for Cornwall and the UK.