Georit Energy Completes Installation of Direct Lithium Extraction Pilot Plant for Large-Scale Mining Rights in Utah, USA

Georit Energy announced on the 3rd that, following securing sites and mineral rights near the Salton Sea in the United States?known for having the highest lithium concentration in geothermal brine worldwide?it has also completed the installation of a pilot plant for direct lithium extraction (DLE) in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, the world's largest salt lake, for the purpose of securing mining rights.

According to Georit Energy, Company A, which installed the pilot plant, holds mineral extraction rights for the Great Salt Lake. In January, Company A conducted a first competitive bidding process targeting 10 companies possessing DLE technology. After approximately three months of technical review, Company A selected three companies, including Georit Energy, as the first-tier companies at the end of April.

A company representative stated, “Among the three selected companies, two have a history of projects that could not proceed due to insufficient lithium extraction technology. Georit Energy is currently emerging as the only viable alternative and is the only competitor that has completed the installation of a pilot plant and is conducting the final inspection for lithium extraction.”

Georit Energy applied an ion exchange-type adsorbent developed by its affiliate, Israeli company Extralith, to the pilot plant. Extralith has previously succeeded in producing 95% pure lithium carbonate from the Dead Sea using the developed adsorbent.

The representative explained, “As the largest shareholder of Extralith, Georit Energy is jointly conducting the lithium extraction project and mining rights acquisition in Utah. Currently, Extralith’s engineers are responsible for operating the pilot plant.”

He added, “Extralith holds three U.S. patents related to the adsorbent, which is the core of the ion exchange DLE technology. This DLE technology has demonstrated approximately 95% lithium recovery rates in low-concentration salt lakes.”

Georit Energy expects to showcase the excellence of its DLE technology through the installation of this pilot plant. Although the Great Salt Lake is regarded as the world’s largest salt lake, it is known that commercial lithium extraction is rarely conducted there. This is because there is no suitable method to remove the high magnesium content contained in the brine of the Great Salt Lake.

However, the adsorbent applied with Extralith’s DLE technology can extract lithium with minimal influence from magnesium. Therefore, if the pilot plant shows successful results, collaboration with other companies holding mineral extraction rights is also anticipated.

The representative emphasized, “Once successful lithium extraction is confirmed through the pilot plant, we will establish cooperative relationships with the relevant companies holding mining rights and proceed with full-scale lithium extraction operations.”