Eramet announces that it has delivered first lithium carbonate production at its newly commissioned Centenario plant, located in Salta Province, in Argentina.
The Centenario plant is the first facility to implement at an industrial scale Eramet’s advanced Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) technology. This industry leading technology delivers sustainable and highly efficient lithium carbonate suitable for electric vehicle battery applications. Centenario first plant is designed to extract and produce 24,000 t/year of battery-grade lithium carbonate, and at full capacity should be positioned in the 1st quartile of the lithium industry cost-curve. First lithium carbonate production has been achieved less than three years after Eramet started the construction of the plant.
Total drainable mineral resources of the Centenario-Ratones salar amount to more than 15 Mt of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (“LCE”)[1], with an average concentration of 407 mg/L of lithium contained in the brine. This worldclass resource is large enough to support long-term growth optionality for production capacity to above 75kt-LCE/year.
On October 24th, the Group had announced it had regained full ownership of its flagship lithium business in Argentina, buying-out the 49.9% share of its partner in their joint-venture Eramine which fully owns the Centenario plant.
[1] 15,120 Mt-LCE, Measured + Indicated + Inferred, as of January 1st, 2024.
