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United States

South West Arkansas Project

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South West Arkansas Project

Location: 24 km W from Magnolia, Arkansas, United States

Project Contacts:

1625 – 1075 West Georgia Street
Vancouver
British Columbia, Canada
V6E 3C9

Contacts:

Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors

Categories

Overview

Mine TypeIn-Situ
StagePre-Feasibility
Commodities
  • Lithium
Mining Method
  • Brine mining
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe South West Arkansas Project brine lease area has been historically drilled for oil and gas exploration, and approximately 424 exploration and production wells have been completed in the Smackover Formation in or immediately adjacent to Company’s lease area. A portion of these wells had available petro-physical logs of the Smackover Formation brine-bearing zone.

On August 8, 2023, the Company announced the results of a PFS on the South West Arkansas Project.

The Company intends on expending funds during the upcoming year to advance the South West Arkansas Project, including advancing a DFS.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Equinor ASA 45 % Indirect
Standard Lithium Ltd. 55 % Indirect
May 08, 2024 -- Standard Lithium Ltd. today announced the closing of a landmark strategic partnership (the “Transaction”) with Equinor ASA.

The Transaction includes Equinor's contribution of up to US$160 million, representing its total gross project-level investment and reflecting its 45% ownership stake in the two entities. This investment includes a US$30 million cash payment to Standard Lithium at closing, a work program solely funded by Equinor of US$60 million, representing a US$33 million carry by Equinor for Standard Lithium’s portion, and US$27 million for Equinor’s portion, at the South West Arkansas Project (SWA) and East Texas (ETX) properties (ETX and together with SWA, the “Projects”), and up to US$70 million in payments to Standard Lithium subject to both parties taking positive Final Investment Decisions. Standard Lithium and Equinor will each own 55% and 45% of the Projects respectively, with Standard Lithium retaining operatorship.

Contractors

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SourceSource

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.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. Annual
LiOH-H2O t 30,000
All production numbers are expressed as crystals.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Hourly brine extraction  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs LiOH-H2O USD  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) LiOH-H2O USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price LiOH-H2O USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study / presentation.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Royalty payments $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 12, 2024
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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 8, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 8, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 8, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Aug 8, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 12, 2024
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EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2023

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