Name of the Project
Clayton Valley lithium project.

Location
Esmeralda County, west-central Nevada, US.

Project Owner/s
Century Lithium.

Project Description
The project is focused on mining and processing a large, flat-lying lithium claystone deposit. Mineral reserves are sufficient to support a 40-year mine life. 

Century’s patent-pending chloride leaching process will be used to extract lithium from the claystone, followed by direct lithium extraction, concentration and purification, as well as the precipitation of the lithium-bearing solution to recover the lithium into a marketable 
product. 

The project is designed for a three-phase production plan that will generate a life-of-mine average of 34 000 t/y of lithium carbonate.

The mine production plan supports target plant feed rates of 7 500 t/d for the first four years (Phase 1), 15 000 t/d for the next four years (Phase 2) and 22 000 t/d (Phase 3) for the remainder of the project. Estimated production of lithium carbonate will range from 36 t/d to 107 t/d. 

The chloralkali plant will produce sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, which are regenerated and used as pH control and leaching reagents in the production of lithium carbonate. 

The plant is sized according to the acid requirements of the project and ranges from an initial 750 t/d to 2 250 t/d of hydrochloric acid at a 100% basis.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project estimates an after-tax net present value of $3.16-billion, at an 8% discount rate, and an internal rate of return of 17.2%, with a payback of nine years.

Capital Expenditure
Phase 1 estimated at $1.58-billion, Phase 2 at $657-million and Phase 3 at $1.34-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
A construction decision is expected in the second half of 2026, with construction starting in the first half of 2027. Initial production is expected in the first half of 2028.

Latest Developments
The project is in the permitting stage.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Century Lithium, tel +1 604 764 1851 or email scacos@centurylithium.com.