ThinkGeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News

Geo40 secures $5.4m for geothermal lithium extraction pilot

NZ-based Geo40 has secure NZD 7.5 million in equity investment for its work on a pilot plant to extract lithium from geothermal brines at Ohaaki, New Zealand.

New Zealand based Geo40 has secured NZ$7.5 million (approx. USD 5.4 million) in equity investment from venture capital firm Pacific Channel, as reported locally.

The funding is to help the company in the development of early stage technology to help extract lithium from geothermal brine on the site of the company’s operation at the Ohaaki geothermal power plant of Contact Energy.

Geo40 has successfully developed silica extraction operations in partnerships with Contact Energy (NZ) and the Ngati Tahu Tribal Lands Trust (NZ). In September 2020, it had secure NZD 13 million in a private capital rising which contributed to get the company’s silica extraction plant up and running.

The potential to add lithium extraction to geothermal operations and in the case of Geo40 to the company’s mineral extraction business clearly has raised interest.

The funding, so the news is to enable Geo40 in the acceleration of the work on its pilot plant and “demonstrate that its recently developed lithium recovery method is capable of economically extracting lithium from geothermal and other subsurface fluids in an environmentally sustainable manner,” so John Worth, Chief Executive and Managing Director of Pacific Channel.

The same technology is used by the company to extract silica from geothermal fluids with a new silica extraction plant commissioned in 2020 at Ohaaki.

Source: RNZ

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