- Vulcan Energy (VUL) has upgraded the resource estimate for its Upper Rhine Valley Lithium Project (URVP) in Germany
- New seismic and well data from the Taro licence area of the URVP has resulted in a substantial resource upgrade
- Global indicated and inferred resources for the project now stand at over three million tonnes of contained elemental lithium
- While the URVP is still in relatively early stages of exploration, the company believes further upgrades of indicated resources are likely
- The company is working on a pre-feasibility study for the project on the back of a positive scoping study
- Vulcan is aiming to become Europe’s largest — and the world’s cleanest — producer of battery-grade lithium
- Vulcan Energy is trading 11.78 per cent higher for $1.85
Vulcan Energy (VUL) has upgraded the resource estimate for its Upper Rhine Valley Lithium Project (URVP) in Germany.
Resource upgrade
New seismic and well data from the Taro licence area of the URVP has resulted in a substantial resource upgrade.
The indicated resource at Taro now stands at 0.83 million tonnes (Mt) of contained lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at a 181 milligram-per-litre (mg/l) lithium grade.
The inferred resource has also been upgraded, with 1.44 Mt of contained LCE at a 181 mg/l grade now confirmed.
This brings the global indicated and inferred resources at the URVP to 16.19 Mt LCE at a 181 mg/l grade, with 90 per cent of that in the inferred category for over three million tonnes of contained elemental lithium.
The indicated resource portion of Taro is being integrated into Vulcan’s pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the project.
Zero carbon lithium
Vulcan is aiming to become the world’s lowest-carbon lithium producer.
The URVP is now Europe’s largest lithium resource, and Europe’s lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle market is the fastest-growing in the world.
The aim of the project is to extract lithium brines and harness their geothermal energy to power the extraction process.
This renewable energy-powered technique would do a lot to lower carbon emissions from what is usually a very power-and water-intensive extraction process.
Lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle producers have stringent controls on their supply chains to ensure their carbon footprints are as low as possible.
Vulcan’s project has the potential to place the company at the forefront of low-carbon lithium production, and significantly reduce Europe’s reliance on China in sourcing the new energy commodity.
While the URVP is still in relatively early stages of exploration, the company believes further upgrades of indicated resources are likely.
A scoping study has already been completed, achieving positive results.
Work on the PFS will continue with the new resource data from Taro incorporated into the project metrics.
Vulcan Energy is trading 11.78 per cent higher for $1.85 at 12:29 pm AEDT.