Scott Thibodeaux Silver Peak’s Operations Manager ALBEMARLE
Can you give an overview of Albemarle’s Silver Peak operation?
Albemarle’s Silver Peak mining operation started in 1965 and has been running continuously ever since. For a long time, Silver Peak was one of the only lithium operations in the US. It is a unique basin with a naturally occurring brine resource located in central Nevada.
What were the main milestones for the Silver Peak over the past few years?
At Silver Peak, Albemarle produces a technical-grade lithium carbonate. Historically, we have averaged around 3,500 t/y to 4,000 t/y of lithium. In 2021, Albemarle announced an expansion of our Silver Peak lithium production facility to produce 7,000 t/y to 7,500 t/y. Since then, we have completed several projects to help us reach that goal, one of those being the expansion of our brine production well field where, over the past two years, we have drilled another 22 production wells and now have the pumping capacity to produce 20,000 acre-feet of brine, equivalent to roughly 7,000 t of lithium carbonate equivalents (LCEs). Due to the time it takes for the brine to come through the system and reach the plant, this increased lithium production will not be realized until roughly 2025.
The Silver Peak facility is relatively old, and over the past five years, Albemarle has invested in new technologies to bring it up to modern times, improve equipment and increase efficiencies. The most significant has been the automation of the carbonate plant, and there are now many more controls throughout the process to improve raw material utilization, thus producing more lithium with as little as possible.
What are Silver Peak’s goals for the next 12 months?
Silver Peak is still in the swing of the expansion, and our goal is to safely execute those projects, getting closer to running at full capacity of 7000 t/y.
Ryan Melsert President and CEO AMERICAN BATTERY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY (ABTC)
What are ABTC’s business units and how are they vertically integrated?
ABTC is tackling domestic critical material challenges by recycling lithium-ion batteries and reintroducing constituent elements to the market. From recycling a lithium-ion battery, we generate nine different products, which are then sold back to manufacturers.
Could you share more about the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project?
The Tonopah Flats Project is unique because it involves a sedimentary material from which lithium has not been traditionally recovered. The resource report we released in spring 2023 indicates an estimate inferred resource of 15.8 million t of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). We have successfully developed and proven our extraction and purification technologies to liberate lithium from this claystone sediment.
Following successful bench-scale testing, we secured a grant from the US Department of Energy to construct an integrated pilot showcasing the process. In 2022, another Department of Energy grant was awarded for developing a commercial-scale refinery to produce lithium hydroxide directly at our lithium claims in central Nevada. Currently, we are constructing commercial-scale facilities for both business units to address these domestic needs on a larger scale effectively.
Can you shed some light on selective lithium leaching and its benefits?
Our technology differs significantly from direct lithium extraction (DLE). Instead of selectively recovering lithium from dissolved elements in brine or leachate, we use a selective leaching process to recover lithium from solid material, leaving non-lithium components stable. This creates a simple leachate, eliminating the need for DLE.
Does ABTC collaborate with any universities or R&D groups in Nevada for technology development?
We have a robust partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), where our laboratories operate on campus. UNR students and faculty are sub-recipients on some DoE grants, promoting collaboration on federally supported projects. Many of our team members are UNR alumni, further strengthening our longstanding positive relationship.