Overview

Mine Type	In-Situ
Stage	Pre-Feasibility
Commodities	Lithium
Mining Method	Brine mining
Mine Life	...
Snapshot	The South-West Arkansas Project will pump brine from the Smackover Formation aquifer via production wells, extract lithium from the brine, convert it to a saleable product, and then reinject the effluent brine via injection wells to maintain pressure in the reservoir. The Phase 1A Project proposes construction and operation of the Company’s first commercial lithium extraction plant via processing of tail brine from the LANXESS South Plant. Development at Phase 1A including commercial agreements, equity participation and phasing are governed by a Memorandum of Understanding with LANXESS, a subsidiary of LANXESS AG, which has exclusive brine extraction rights for 142,881 acres.

Deposit type

• Brine

Summary:

The SWA Property lithium deposit is a confined brine deposit in the form of a lithium-bearing brine contained within the porosity of the Smackover Formation within the SWA Property boundaries. The Smackover formation in southern Arkansas has proven to be a prolific source of mineral resources, beginning with oil and gas, then transitioning to bromine, with lithium now an attractive development target. Bromine brine production from the Smackover Formation is extensive in Union and Columbia counties, to the east of the SWA Property.

Deposit Type
Lithium is extracted today from either mineral deposits (often from pegmatite deposits containing the lithium-rich mineral spodumene) or brine deposits. Brine deposits can either be unconfined in salars, where lithium has been concentrated by the surface evaporation of water from lithium-bearing brine or confined in underground brine-bearing formations. The SWA Property lithium deposit is a confined brine deposit in the form of a lithium-bearing brine contained within the porosity of the Smackover Formation within the SWA Property boundaries. The Smackover formation in southern Arkansas has proven to be a prolific source of mineral resources, beginning with oil and gas, then transitioning to bromine, with lithium now an attractive development target. Bromine brine production from the Smackover Formation is extensive in Union and Columbia counties, to the east of the SWA Property.

Geological Setting and Mineralization
The lithium concentration exhibited by the Smackover Formation brine varies throughout the Property. The depth of the top of the Smackover in the Property area generally dips from north-northeast to south-southwest and varies in depth from approximately 7,600 feet (2,316 meters) subsea to approximately 9,100 feet (2,773 meters) subsea. The reservoir structure is not by itself an important factor in brine production because the similar density of injected and produced brines minimizes the influence of gravity on fluid flow in the reservoir. There is an east-west fault near the center of the SWA Property (the Brown Fault) and three more east-west faults along the southern edge of the SWA Property.

The lithium brine-bearing Upper Smackover Interval is overlain by the Buckner Formation, which in Arkansas is dominated by red shale in the upper part and anhydrite in the lower part above the Smackover carbonates, and, as a result of its low permeability, acts as a geologic seal which traps oil and gas. The dense, low-permeability carbonate of the Lower Smackover Interval is underlain by the clastic section of the Norphlet Formation. The Norphlet Formation is comprised of red and gray clays with varying amounts of intercalated sands and occasional gravels.

Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

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Production

Operational metrics

Metrics
Hourly brine extraction	....

Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Feb 12, 2024
.......................	.......................		Feb 5, 2024
.......................	.......................		Aug 8, 2023
.......................	.......................		Aug 8, 2023
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.......................	.......................		Aug 8, 2023
.......................	.......................		Feb 12, 2024
.......................	.......................		Feb 5, 2024

Employees	Year
......	2023