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Jindalee Lithium Ltd (ASX:JLL) has completed a prefeasibility study on its McDermitt Lithium Project in the United States, with the findings revealing strong economics over an expected 40-year project life period.
The project – 13,606 acres straddling the Oregon-Nevada border – is currently the country’s largest lithium resource, and its PFS forecasts production of 1.8 million tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate over the first 40 years.
This would put McDermitt in a key position in the growing U.S. battery supply chain.
More specifically, the PFS predicted 47.5 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) would be produced in the first 10 years, for a C1 unit cost US$8,080 per tonne of lithium carbonate, with 44.3ktpa being produced across the first 40 years of operation, for a C1 unit cost of US$8,670/t of lithium carbonate.
The strong financials for the latter period – based on a flat lithium carbonate price of US$24,000/t lithium carbonate – included a post-tax NPV (net present value) of US$3,229 million, post-tax IRR of 17.9%, and a payback period under 5 years, with a NPV breakeven price of approximately US$14,600/t of lithium carbonate.
CEO Ian Rodger said the PFS represented an important achievement for the company.
“The completion of this PFS is a pivotal milestone for Jindalee and our wholly owned McDermitt Lithium Project, underscoring McDermitt’s strategic potential as a large-scale, long-life competitive source of “American-made” lithium chemicals for the US battery supply chain,” he said.
“Among the study’s key achievements is the successful bench-scale test work, which validated our flowsheet and confirmed the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate with high recovery rates.
“While the PFS demonstrates McDermitt’s compelling value, we remain committed to further enhancing cost efficiency and sustainability as we responsibly advance the Project, delivering value for all stakeholders.”
The market appeared happy with the news, and at 13:39 AEDT, Jindalee shares were trading at 50 cents – a rise of 20.48% since the market opened.
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