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Permits in place for geothermal Lithium production at the Salton Sea

Permits in place for geothermal Lithium production at the Salton Sea John L. Featherstone geothermal plant (Source: EnergySource Minerals website)
Carlo Cariaga 22 Nov 2021

EnergySource Minerals has been granted the permits for the lithium extraction project to be done in an existing geothermal plant in Salton Sea

Project ATLiS of EnergySource Minerals has received favorable approvals on the Conditional Use Permit, water supply assessment, and environmental impact report from the Imperial County Planning Commission. This is a project that aims to extract lithium from the brine of the 55-MW John L. Featherstone geothermal plant in the Salton Sea.

This is significant progress following the development of the technology for Project ATLiS that we reported in 2019. According to the last report, battery-spec materials have been successfully created at a pilot scale with >99% impurity removal and over 90% lithium recovery.

Lithium is considered an essential component for the transition of the energy industry from fossil fuels to high-performance battery storage. Extracting lithium from geothermal brine requires a smaller ground and water footprint and produces less CO2 emissions compared to traditional mining methods.

“We are thrilled to be able to tap into an existing facility and begin decarbonizing the supply chain of lithium for the EV industry,” said EnergySource Minerals COO Derek Benson. “To electrify the auto industry by 2030, we need more domestic lithium sources. Project ATLiS set the bar for sustainably sourced lithium, and our ILiAD platform technology will be deployed to other operations in the US and around the world.”

The ATLiS project is also expected to help the local economy by way  of jobs for the local services industries including transportation of goods and supplied maintenance. EnergySource Minerals is expected to contribute more than USD60,000,000 per year in payroll, royalties, utilities, and property tax.

About EnergySource Minerals

EnergySource Minerals is a privately held company leading the development of Project ATLiS, a premier lithium project located in Imperial County, CaliforniaUnited States – as well as ILiAD platform technology, which can be adapted for geothermal operations around the world.

Source: PR Newswire