Lepidico - Piloting its way through

Although an abundant lithium-bearing mineral, lepidolite has hitherto been overlooked as there has been no commercial process by which to process it economically (unlike spodumene). Central to Lepidico is its disruptive (patent pending) L-Max metallurgical technology that recovers lithium from micas (eg lepidolite), and therefore holds out the prospect of creating a new source of lithium supply. Lepidico has completed mini-plant trials on its L-Max process at a processing rate of 1kg/hour and a pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the development of a 3.6t/hour Phase 1 demonstration plant. It is developing a 15kg/hour pilot plant in part to mitigate scale-up risk, while simultaneously completing a full FS on a 7t/hour plant ahead of a final investment decision in mid-2019.