CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM: CTL, Frankfurt: T2N), an exploration and development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile, announces an update on two trials being undertaken in North America and in Santiago, Chile, to produce battery grade lithium carbonate from the Laguna Verde project. The trials are focused on replicating and validating the process design that has been defined in the Laguna Verde Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS“).

Highlights:

• In North America, stage two of the downstream processing of eluate* (see footnote for definition) produced by our DLE pilot plant located in Chile, into battery grade lithium carbonate has commenced.
• The first stage of this work was undertaken by Conductive Energy and reported to the market in January 2025.
• Conductive Energy was acquired by Empower EIT over the course of 2025, with Empower establishing an advanced lithium processing facility in Dallas, USA.
• This second stage of eluate conversion will process 60m³ of concentrated eluate at the new facility.
• The nanofiltration stage of the process will utilise an advanced membrane developed by DuPont Water Solutions to maximise impurity removal and lithium recovery.
• Approximately 300kg of battery grade lithium carbonate are expected to be produced in Q2 2026 and made available to potential strategic partners for product qualification.
• Concurrently, a smaller scale pilot programme is underway utilising the pilot plant of Lanshen Technology (“Lanshen”), located in Santiago, Chile.
• This pilot plant replicates the process flowsheet developed with Lanshen for the Laguna Verde PFS and aims to demonstrate the robustness of the process design and provide a high degree of validation of the process parameters used in the PFS.
• A volume of 24m³ of feed brine from Laguna Verde is being processed into 5kg of battery grade lithium carbonate.

Ignacio Mehech, Chief Executive Officer, CleanTech Lithium said: “We are undertaking important pilot scale process trials in North America and Chile to produce battery grade lithium carbonate from Laguna Verde brine. This work will provide strong technical support for the process flow sheet used in our PFS which we think is an important consideration for engaging with potential strategic investors.”

Further Details:

Eluate conversion in North America commences

In 2H 2024, a total of 88m³ of concentrated eluate produced at the Company´s DLE pilot plant located in Copiapó, Chile, was shipped to the facilities of Conductive Energy in Chicago, USA, for conversion into lithium carbonate. A total of 27.5m³ of eluate was processed in this first stage trial which produced approximately 50kg of lithium carbonate. The details were reported to the market on January 14, 2025 (link). Conductive Energy entered an extended acquisition process in 2025 which culminated in it being acquired by Empower EIT, a company which aims to be a leader in lithium processing in North America. With the establishment of Empower´s new 1600m² facility based in…

Japan will begin testing deep-sea mining for rare earth elements this month, moving into uncharted territory as supply security concerns intensify amid China’s tightening grip on critical minerals.

The government-backed trial, scheduled to run from January 11 to February 14, will take place in waters around Minamitori Island, roughly 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo.

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The test is designed to evaluate equipment capable of retrieving up to 350 metric tons of sediment per day while simultaneously monitoring environmental impacts both on the seabed and aboard the vessel.

According to a December Reuters report, Japanese officials say a larger-scale trial could follow next year if the initial phase proves successful.

Tokyo’s push into deep-sea mining comes as concerns grow over its exposure to Chinese export controls. China dominates the rare earth supply chain, accounting for about 70 percent of global production and more than 90 percent of refining capacity, according to Japanese government estimates.

Despite years of diversification efforts, Japan still sources around 60 percent of its rare-earth imports from China and remains almost entirely dependent on Beijing for certain heavy rare earths.

Those vulnerabilities have become more acute as China signals a tougher stance on exports.

Earlier this week, Beijing announced restrictions on the overseas sale of so-called “dual-use” items with potential military applications, a category analysts say could be interpreted broadly enough to encompass some rare earth materials.

The announcement revived memories of 2010, when China quietly halted rare-earth shipments to Japan during a territorial dispute, disrupting manufacturing and forcing Tokyo to reassess its supply risks.

Japanese government estimates suggest the economic fallout from another disruption could be severe. A three-month interruption in rare-earth supplies could cost domestic companies more than US$4 billion, while a year-long halt could shave nearly 0.5 percent off annual GDP.

Japan is also exploring potential cooperation with the US in the waters around Minamitori Island as part of a broader effort to build more resilient supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals.

The two countries have already committed last year to collaborate on mining, processing, and supply chain development.

Beyond the current trial, Japan is also laying plans to build a dedicated processing facility on Minamitorishima by 2027 as part of its Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP).

The facility would handle mud recovered from the seabed and form part of an end-to-end domestic supply chain for marine-based rare earths. A full-scale demonstration is scheduled for February 2027 to test the facility’s ability to recover up to 350 metric tons of rare-earth mud per day.

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