Name of the Project
Kachi lithium brine project.

Location
Catamarca, Argentina.

Project Owner/s
Lithium developer Lake Resources.

Project Description
The Phase 1 definitive feasibility study (DFS) on Kachi has demonstrated that it is a tier-one project. During this phase, production of 25 000 t/y over a 25-year life-of-mine will be targeted.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project boasts a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $3.85-billion and an internal rate of return of 25.35%, with a payback of 4.25 years.

Capital Expenditure
Estimated initial capital expenditure for Phase 1 is $1.38-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Kachi is targeting first lithium in 2027, with the ramp-up to full capacity by the end of 2028.

Latest Developments
Lake Resources is laying off staff and selling assets, as low prices for the electric vehicle battery metal hampers efforts to find customers and investors for the project, the company has reported.

The move is the latest blow to the lithium industry and its struggling producers after the more than 80% drop in prices for the ultralight metal in the past year, a fall fuelled by Chinese oversupply and concerns that the electric vehicle industry is not growing as fast as previously expected.

The project initially attracted interest from FordF.N and others, but operating at the remote site fuelled extensive cost overruns that became untenable once lithium prices started to slide.

Lake is cutting most of its 180 workers but plans to keep a skeleton staff of about 20, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Lake CEO David Dickson has declined to provide specific numbers, but has acknowledged that Lake "is . . . cost cutting and resizing the company for where we're at now".

Lake is also considering selling four lithium-rich acreage positions it controls, in Argentina, and is likely to move out of its Houston offices to a smaller location, Dickson has said.

The company hired Goldman Sachs last year to find either a customer or an investor for the Kachi project, a process that was set to finish by December. That will now likely bleed into at least 2025, he has added.

Lake still plans to open the project by 2027 if lithium prices rebound.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Lilac Solutions (lithium extraction testwork); Hatch (engineering and design services); Citi and JP Morgan (finance coordinators of the project); and Knight Piésold (EIA).

Contact Details for Project Information
Lake Wells, tel +61 2 9299 9690 or email hello@lakeresources.com.au.