- Lepidico’s L-Max® Pilot Plant has produced lithium carbonate at a purity level of 99.9 per cent
- A U.S. patent protection has been granted
- The company is currently working on converting the back end of the Pilot Plant to LOH-MAX
- L-Max® has completed and meet all the requirements for the a US Patent Protection
Lepidico’s L-Max® Pilot Plant has produced a 99.9 per cent purity level of lithium carbonate during its campaign.
Achieving a 99.9 per cent purity level is a major step for the company in the lithium industry, because many existing producers reach a max purity level of 99.5 per cent lithium carbonate.
The L-Max® Process has the potential to complement the lithium market by adding low-cost lithium carbonate supply from alternative sources.
Lepidico is currently conducting a feasibility study for a 5000 tonne per annum capacity Phase 1 lithium chemical plant. It aims to reach commercial production by 2021.
Recently, Lepidico added LOH-MAX to its technology base, which produces lithium hydroxide from lithium sulphate without by-product sodium sulphate.
The company is currently working on converting the back end of the Pilot Plant to LOH-MAX and it already has all the major mechanical equipment on site. The first trial batch is due in November.
Also announced to the market today, the L-Max® process technology has been granted U.S. patent protection.
The L-Max® technology meets all the requirements for the patent protection, with the final step being a final payment of relative fees which Lepidico has completed.
The patent will be officially received in a month.
Managing Director, Joe Walsh is pleased with being granted the U.S patent protection, claiming it’s a big milestone for the company.
“Grant of patent protection in the United States represents a major endorsement that L-Max® is a novel process that provides Lepidico with a strategic advantage in the development of its lithium business,” Joe said.
“L-Max® is integral to Lepidico’s vertically integrated Phase 1 Project which is now in the advanced stages of a feasibility study, the results of which are due in March 2020,” he added.
The company said other patent applications are well advanced and are on the way in other jurisdictions.
Lepidico is gearing up to present at the annual Benchmark Minerals Intelligence World Tour when it heads to Perth on September 20 2019.
The Benchmarks Mineral Intelligence World Tour is the world’s original and leading annual series of investment seminars on the lithium-ion battery to electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. It is now in its fifth year.