GLEBE – Green Lithium Extraction from BrinE

我们的目标是生产“绿色锂”，为英格兰东北部正在建设的新超级工厂和锂精炼厂以及更广泛的汽车行业提供运输成本优势，供应保证和环境溢价，而不是外国供应商。我们对这个项目的愿景是产生所需的信息，并为从位于达勒姆县Weardale的Eastgate井中提取地热盐水中提取锂提供一个投资就绪的商业案例。与国内其他含锂地热盐水不同，该资源的独特之处在于其重金属含量低，流速高。本可行性研究分为两部分，分别为1\。资源勘探与开发；利用DLE提取锂并将其转化为电池级材料。这些信息是关键，因为我们需要向投资者和我们生产的锂材料的最终用户保证，这种资源是长期可持续的。在确定工艺路线后，我们将建立中试工厂和全尺寸工厂的资金和运营成本，假设中试工厂的设计仍然有效。通过财务分析，我们将确定每公斤氯化锂和碳酸锂的生产成本，并根据碳酸锂和氢氧化锂在世界市场上的价格假设一系列情景，从2023年试点工厂建成时开始，为Weardale lithium准备损益和资产负债表。与此同时，我们将进行市场研究，并与电池材料制造商和超级工厂一起确定我们产品的可能需求，确定国内锂资源对其战略计划的重要性。将进行一项社会研究，以估计将在Weardale Lithium内部和外部供应链中创造或保存的就业机会数量，以及该项目对更广泛社区的好处。将进行财务分析，以确定项目的利益和商业案例的反事实，以进一步证明任何进一步的公共资金。可行性研究的结果将用于创建一个投资准备好的商业案例，用于建设试点工厂和未来对全规模工厂的投资。

Our objective is to produce "Green Lithium" supplying the new Gigafactories and lithium refineries under construction and the wider automotive industry in NE England conferring transportation cost advantages, supply assurances and an environmental-premium over foreign suppliers.Our vision for this project is to generate the information required and produce an investment ready business case for the extraction of lithium from geothermal brines taken from boreholes located at Eastgate, Weardale, County Durham. The resource is unique because unlike other domestic geothermal brines containing lithium it has a low heavy metal content and a high flow rate.This Feasibility Study has two parts comprising 1\. resource exploration & development and 2\. extraction of lithium by DLE and its conversion to battery grade materials.This information is key, because we need to assure investors and end users of the lithium materials we produce that the resource is sustainable over the long term.Having confirmed the process route, we will establish the capital and operating costs of the pilot plant and the full-sized plant, assuming the pilot plant design remains valid. Through financial analysis we will determine the production costs per kg of lithium chloride and lithium carbonate and prepare a profit and loss and balance sheet for Weardale Lithium from 2023 when the pilot plant is constructed assuming a range of scenarios with the lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide price on world markets.In parallel with this work, we will conduct a market study and establish the likely demand for our product with battery material manufacturers and the Gigafactories, identifying how critical a domestic source of lithium is to their strategic plan. A social study will be conducted to estimate the number of jobs both within Weardale Lithium and externally in its supply chain will be created or saved and the benefit of the project to the wider community. Financial analyses will be made to establish the benefit of the project and the counterfactuals of the business case to justify further any further public funding.The findings from the Feasibility Study will be used to create an investment ready business case for construction of the pilot plant and future investment in the full-scale plant.