Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan., said on July 13 it has identified a lithium brine resource of approximately 2.4 million mt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at its active Ogden, Utah, solar evaporation site, including an indicated lithium resource within the ambient brine of the Great Salt Lake.
“We are aggressively evaluating multiple paths forward for this significant lithium brine resource to optimize shareholder value, in parallel with a reassessment of our current capital allocation strategy,” said Kevin Crutchfield, President and CEO. “In a market hungry for domestically sourced lithium produced with minimal environmental impact, we believe a sustainable and readily available lithium resource like we have defined at our operations on the Great Salt Lake could be a true differentiator for our company. We look forward to communicating the results of our strategic evaluation and the selection of an extraction technology partner as we identify the most advantageous path forward for Compass Minerals.”
After an 18-month assessment of technology partners and two separate and ongoing pilot projects, Compass said it is in the late stages of selecting a direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology partner. The company is targeting an annual production capacity of approximately 20,000 to 25,000 mt LCE of battery-grade lithium, with up to 65 percent of the future production derived from brine that has already been extracted from the Great Salt Lake and in varying stages of concentration within the company’s existing ponds.
In addition, the company is actively engaged in third-party testing of conversion options to battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The company expects to share more information on a selected DLE technology partner and other milestones as the project progresses.
Compass has contracted with Minviro Ltd., London, to perform a formal life cycle assessment (LCA) of the company’s lithium development scenarios currently under consideration.
Compass has leveraged the high mineral concentrations of the Great Salt Lake for over 50 years to produce sulfate of potash (SOP), salt, and magnesium chloride products. It is the largest operation of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.