TerraScience Subsidiary Sinan Lithium Receives Final Report from Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources

Terra Science subsidiary Sinan Lithium announced on the 28th that it has received the final report verified by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.

Terra Science stated that its subsidiary Sinan Lithium received the "Sinan Amhaedo Physical Survey and Pumping Test Final Report" commissioned to GeoGenie Consultant. It also announced that it received a technical advisory report on "Sinan Groundwater Characteristics and Lithium Extraction Technology Consultation" from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.

According to GeoGenie Consultant's report, Terra Science carried out four tasks: ▲ consultation on Sinan groundwater characteristics and lithium extraction technology ▲ physical surface survey using electrical resistivity method over a 6km extension of the survey line ▲ physical logging of a test borehole at a depth of 1350m, including electrical resistivity logging, temperature logging, density logging, borehole imaging, water quality and rock component analysis ▲ step-drawdown and long-term pumping tests, as well as 62 on-site water quality measurements and 8 major ion tests during the long-term pumping test period.

The company explained, "The survey area, Amhaedo, is structurally located along the Gwangju Fault, where volcanic activity was frequent during the Lower Cretaceous period." It added, "The lithium content in the borehole water shows values of 10.5mg/L at -550m, 13.9mg/L at -750m, and 14.8mg/L at -1000m, indicating a tendency for lithium content to increase with depth."

Compared to the average lithium content of 0.17mg/L in normal seawater, this represents 60 to 87 times higher lithium content, and considering the lithium content in the bedrock layer, it is about 100 times that of normal seawater, the company stated. Furthermore, based on the data, it added that there is a high possibility that brine containing a higher concentration of lithium than 14.8mg/L is deposited at depths greater than approximately 1000m.

The company estimated that "the approximate volume of the survey area is about 10 billion tons, which corresponds to about 760,000 tons of lithium production." It also said, "Since brine is continuously supplied, the amount is expected to be 300 to 500% more than the lithium production capacity."

It continued, "We plan to apply the new technology DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) method, which enables extraction even at low concentrations, to order eco-friendly production facilities early." It added, "Through ongoing collaboration with local governments and national research institutes, we will do our best to present a future-oriented vision for the national interest."

The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources stated in the report, "As a result of conducting direct lithium extraction experiments on Sinan natural evaporative concentrated water, a large amount of sludge was generated, making solid-liquid separation difficult." It concluded, "Ultimately, lithium can be extracted at over 80% under optimized conditions from Sinan groundwater concentrate."