A joint venture (JV) agreement between Pilbara Minerals and Calix to build a demonstration plant at the Pilgangoora Project has been announced .
The Mid-Stream Demonstration Plant Project aims to produce a superior value-added lithium product, allowing for cheaper product costs, lower carbon energy intensity, and less waste product logistics.
The JV will have 55 per cent Pilbara Minerals and 45 per cent Calix participation, with each party investing their share of operating and capital expenditures and Calix licencing their proprietary technology and calcination know-how into the JV.
The Pilgangoora Project’s Demonstration Plant will be managed by Pilbara Minerals, who will be in charge of both the development and operation phases.
Meanwhile, Calix will have a 10 per cent in-kind contribution towards the Demonstration Plant’s budgeted projected construction costs in exchange for providing the JV with an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence for its revolutionary calciner technology for lithium processing applications.
Following a successful demonstration of the calcination method at the Demonstration Plant, the JV may licence the technology to the global spodumene processing sector.
“It’s a great privilege to enter this JV partnership with Calix. The Mid-stream project has the potential to be a game changer for our industry. If successful, we will be able to deliver a superior chemical intermediary product to market compared to spodumene concentrate. This intermediate product offers a higher concentration in lithium and less impurities whilst being produced through a new process that reduces CO2 emissions compared to the traditional process route for hard rock spodumene chemical conversion. This is world-first Australian technology, being developed by two great Australian companies on Australian soil, with the support of the Australian Government – this is an exceptional opportunity for all of us,” Pilbara Minerals’ Managing Director and CEO, Dale Henderson said.
Calix Managing Director and CEO Phil Hodgson stated: “Calix is delighted to formally announce our joint venture agreement with Pilbara Minerals for the development of a sustainable, high value mid-stream lithium product. Calix is focused on decarbonising our essential industries, utilising our core technology’s ability to electrify industrial processing, and minimise the waste and CO2 footprint of minerals. We are excited to join forces with Pilbara Minerals and formalise our close working relationship built over the past 18 months. We will apply our combined capabilities to generate a more sustainable and valuable Australian lithium product.”
To support a Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of the Demonstration Plant, which is now scheduled for the June Quarter of 2023, the parties have continued to advance engineering design work and feasibility studies for the Demonstration Plant and have begun a market engagement programme following the generation of market samples (lithium salt product) via a pilot test work programme concluded in October. This work will continue under the Joint Venture and will help to finalise the design of the Demonstration Plant in preparation for the FID to proceed with its development.
The Parties are continuing to work with the Australian Government to finalise the grant agreement for the $20 million Modern Manufacturing Initiative Grant awarded to the Mid-Stream Project. This grant agreement is scheduled to be finalised before FID.
 agreement between Pilbara Minerals and Calix has been announced to build a demonstration plant at the Pilgangoora Project.){kind=link}