Galan Lithium has continued to ramp up its Hombre Muerto West (HMW) lithium chloride project in Argentina, with evaporation in its first pond continuing, a second now filling up and construction of a third well underway.
The company says “Pond 1” already contains about 500 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) for the tier-one project that has been designed to produce a premium high-grade lithium chloride concentrate, with production planned to start in the first half of next year.
Galan says that while earthworks and liner installation at “Pond 2” are about 65 per cent complete, it is already filling it and the evaporation process has begun. It has also finished about 40 per cent of the construction work at “Pond 3”.
Management says its HMW mission is separated into four production phases.
The initial phase-one definitive feasibility study (DFS) focuses on the production of 5400 tonnes per annum LCE of a lithium chloride concentrate by the first half of next year, as governed by its approved production permits. The phase-two DFS targets 21,000tpa LCE of a lithium chloride concentrate in 2026, followed by phase-three production of 40,000tpa LCE by 2028 and finally a phase-four production target of 60,000tpa LCE by 2030.
Phase four will include lithium brine sourced from both HMW and Galan’s fully-owned Candelas project, also in Argentina.
Galan Lithium managing director Juan Pablo (JP) Vargas de la Vega said: “We remain firm in progressing our lithium chloride strategy and are confident that our production approach, including key tenement acquisitions, permitting and offtake arrangements put Galan in a good place to becoming the next lithium producer in Argentina in H1 2025.”
The company says HMW will produce a premium high-grade lithium chloride (LiCl) concentrate of 6 per cent lithium – which is comparable to 13 per cent lithium oxide or 32 per cent LCE – in the first half of next year.
It says the lithium chloride product results in 85 times the concentration of contained lithium compared to raw brines sourced from the Hombre Muerto Salar, with its 6 per cent LiCl concentrate containing more than twice the lithium content of spodumene concentrates exported from Australia.
Galan says the production process at HMW uses little fresh water and considerably less water than the subsequent conversion to lithium carbonate or hydroxide, underpinning the low environmental impact of its lithium chloride strategy. In addition, water for HMW is to be sourced directly from in-situ dedicated water wells.
Management says construction permits for the first phase of its strategy were granted in August last year, while the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the second phase was lodged with the Catamarca Government in December. It believes the permitting process remains on track, with continued staunch support from local communities and government.
Galan remains confident on the viability of its lithium chloride production strategy, with an established market precedent for the sale of liquid LiCl concentrate in the industry, including more than 10 years of exports to China by Chilean giant SQM.
Domestically, the company says there is the added potential of its premium HMW high-grade, low-impurity LiCl product improving the performance of lithium carbonate plants in northern Argentina. It notes there is an expectation that there will be up to 10 downstream processing plants operating in Argentina within the next five years.
Both the HMW and Candelas projects are based in Argentina’s Hombre Muerto Salar, within what has become known as South America’s “Lithium Triangle”. The area is home to the established Arcadium Lithium’s El Fenix and Sal de Vida lithium operations and Posco’s Sal de Oro lithium project.
HMW takes up an area of about 16km by 1.5km on the west coast of the Hombre Muerto Salar, neighbouring Arcadium to the east. It consists of 21 mining tenements, with both geophysics and drilling demonstrating significant potential for a deep basin.
In May last year, Galan delivered an updated mineral resource estimate totalling 6.6 million tonnes of LCE and including Candelas, it comprises 7.267 million tonnes of LCE. In November, a binding offtake and financing agreement, which is still pending due diligence, for the first phase of production was also signed with Glencore.
Galan, both with its Lithium Triangle projects and its present stage of development, is well-placed to benefit from the expected future demand by electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers for quality lithium products.
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By Craig Nolan
