Name of the Project
South West Arkansas (SWA) lithium project.

Location
The SWA project’s facilities are planned to be located in Lafayette County, south of Lewisville, Arkansas, in the US, and the brine unit that will source lithium-bearing brine for the project facilities spans Lafayette and Columbia counties.

Project Owner/s
The project is a partnership between explorer, developer, and processor of lithium brine properties Standard Lithium (55%) and Norwegian State-owned multinational energy company Equinor (45%).

Project Description
The SWA project is expected to be one of the world’s first commercial-scale direct lithium extraction facilities. The project is expected to produce about 45 000 t/y of lithium carbonate, developed over two phases of 22 500 t each.

A definitive feasibility study (DFS) and front-end engineering design for the project are under way.

Potential Job Creation
The project will add about 100 direct, long-term jobs and 300 construction jobs, with a commitment to hire at least 40% of the operations workforce locally.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
To be determined. The 2023 DFS estimated an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $3.1-billion and an internal rate of return of 32.8% in the base case.

Capital Expenditure
To be determined. The 2023 DFS estimated total capital expenditure of $1.3-billion, including contingency of 20%.

Planned Start/End Date
The partnership is targeting a final investment decision by the end of 2025, with the first phase of production starting as soon as 2028.

Latest Developments
SWA Lithium closed the $225-million grant from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing & Energy

Supply Chains in January 2025. The grant will support the construction of Phase 1 of the SWA project.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Not disclosed.

Contact Details for Project Information
Standard Lithium, email info@standardlithium.com.
Equinor, tel +47 51 99 00 00; or IR manager, North America – investor relations Amberley Doskey, tel +1 617 216 4385 or email amlev@equinor.com.