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Waterleaf outlines lithium-extraction pilot at Great Salt Lake, says process returns most brine
Summary
Waterleaf/Lilac presented a direct lithium extraction pilot at the lake’s North Arm, reported pilot KPIs (about 70 ppm influent lithium), described a process Waterleaf calls nonconsumptive, and answered council and public questions about water balance, hauling and environmental study plans.
Waterleaf, the project company affiliated with Lilac (technology provider), presented May 14 to the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council on a direct lithium extraction (DLE) pilot operating on the North Arm and described objectives and early results intended to inform commercial permitting.
Steve Mori, Waterleaf project director, said the company’s proposed commercial plant would produce about 5,000 tons of lithium per year and that — if built at the proposed scale — the plant "would double US production" of lithium produced domestically. Mori said the commercial target start date is 2027, with construction beginning in 2026 if permitting and funding close as planned.
Mark Mulligan, Waterleaf’s vice president of engineering, described the company’s ion-exchange bead DLE process: pump brine to a filtration step, pass it through a…
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