Eramet begins start-up of key lithium plant at Centenario-Ratones in Argentina

Eramet began the start-up of a direct lithium extraction plant in Argentina's Salta province as part of the Centenario-Ratones project that will begin producing in November.

The milestone is part of the first phase of the initiative, which the French company said in a statement would allow it to supply sufficient lithium to support the manufacture of 600,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per year.

In that statement, the firm also announced that it was upping its investment in Centenario-Ratones by nearly 9% to US$870 million. In the first phase, the project is forecast to reach a production capacity of 24,000t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate by mid-2025. 

Centenario-Ratones is a key project for the joint venture between Eramet (50.1%) and its Chinese partner Tsingshan (49.9%). 

The inauguration of the plant has been a feat, as it is in an area some 4,000m above sea level, which implies extreme weather conditions and challenging logistics for movement of equipment, materials and workers.

Centenario-Ratones, which is being carried out by Eramet's local subsidiary Eramine Sudamérica, has extractable mineral resources that are estimated at more than 15Mt of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with an average lithium concentration of 407mg/l in brine, Eramet said.

“The annual Ebitda is estimated at between US$210mn and US$315mn, based on a long-term price hypothesis of between US$15,000 and US$20,000 per ton of LCE,” the company added.

Studies are currently being conducted to increase production by 30,000t/y of LCE with a second plant that would be included in Argentina's new Rigi investment tax regime for large projects.

“The regime would improve economic and financing conditions,” said Eramet.

Technology

Eramet's direct extraction technology was tested for five years in a pilot plant at the Centenario facilities, where it achieved a 90% recovery rate for the lithium in the brine extracted from the salt flat. The process also shortens the production period to just one week from the 12-18 months that the conventional evaporation method usually takes, according to the mining company.