Cornish joint venture company GeoCubed has chosen GeoLith SAS for its direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to use in the £4 million pilot plant due to be commissioned by the end of March 2022 in Cornwall.
The pilot plant will process 140 metres3 of deep geothermal water which Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) said it had obtained during recent testing at its United Downs site.
GeoCubed, formed by junior explorer Cornish Lithium Ltd and GEL, aims to extract lithium from geothermal brine in the county.
French company GeoLith will use its Li-Capt® DLE technology in GeoCubed’s pilot plant which is supported by £2.9m from public funds.
PILOT PLANT
GeoCubed chose GeoLith’s technology from more than ten other companies because of the quality of company’s tender, the effectiveness of its technology, and ability to design and deliver a pilot plant.
The pilot plant is planned to have a nominal capacity of 10 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent per year.
Cornish Lithium said that the results of the pilot were expected to provide sufficient information to enable the design of a commercial lithium plant in Cornwall.
UNITED DOWNS
GEL drilled two deep geothermal wells during 2019 and the company said it ran an “extensive and exemplary community engagement / education programme” on the £28m programme at United Downs.
The project has drawn interest outside of the UK with 27 European universities currently linked to it.
The production well is the deepest and hottest well drilled to date in the UK, with a depth of 5.275km and temperature of 195 C.
Test work is currently under way with the geothermal power plant due to be constructed and providing baseload geothermal power by the end of 2021.
DATA
Cornish Lithium chief executive and founder Jeremy Wrathall, who is also a director of GeoCubed, said that the JV had established a good working relationship with GeoLith which provided a demonstration plant in June 2021.
“This test work provided excellent results and we look forward to working with them.
“The pilot plant being constructed at Cornish Lithium’s test site at United Downs will enable us to demonstrate what modern, low-carbon mineral extraction looks like as well as demonstrating the viability of DLE technology on Cornish geothermal waters.
“By processing the 140 metres3 of geothermal waters collected from the United Downs deep geothermal power project, the pilot plant will provide important data to enable the design and construction of a commercial scale plant as we work to establish this innovative minerals extraction industry for the benefit of Cornwall and the UK.”
Managing director and founder of GEL Ryan Law, also a director of GeoCubed, added that recent geothermal tests at the United Downs site had proved that geothermal power could be produced in Cornwall.
GEOCUBED PARTNERS
Cornish Lithium was founded in 2016 and focuses on the environmentally sustainable extraction of lithium from geothermal waters and hard rock in the mining district of Cornwall.
The company said it had secured agreements with the owners of mineral rights over a large area of the county and is using modern technology to re-evaluate the region for low carbon extraction of lithium and other vital technology metals.
GEL was founded in 2008 and is developing the £28m project at United Downs, which will be the first deep geothermal power plant in the UK.