Intrepid Potash Inc. on Dec. 12 announced that it has engaged Pickering Energy Partners LP to advise on maximizing the value of the lithium resource at its mine in Wendover, Utah. In addition to potash and salt, Wendover’s brine resource also contains magnesium, lithium, and other associated minerals, according to Intrepid.
The Wendover evaporative area is over 11,000 acres and lithium concentrations have been measured at over 1,500 parts per million in the final byproduct brine.
“I am excited to announce our engagement with Pickering to help us evaluate our options to capitalize on the value of the lithium that we have long known to be present in the brine at our Wendover mine,” said Bob Jornayvaz, Intrepid Executive Chairman. “Pickering has established itself as a leader and trusted advisor in the energy space and we are excited to partner together and evaluate promising new direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies to recover lithium from our brine and create value for Intrepid and our shareholders.”
“The majority of the lithium Intrepid currently extracts from its deep brine wells as part of its potash operation is on fee land and Intrepid’s existing, large-scale evaporative assets greatly simplify the story,” said Diego Kuschnir, who leads Pickering’s Energy Transition Banking practice. “We are excited to represent Intrepid on this unique energy transition project and look forward to helping Intrepid expand the domestic supply of lithium and achieve maximum value for its lithium brine.”