Lithium brine developer E3 Lithium Ltd. (ETL-X) hopes to start operations at its Clearwater project in Alberta by the second half of 2027, according to a webinar breaking down the project's pre-feasibility study.

Located between Calgary and Red Deer in the Bashaw District, lithium hydroxide would be extracted and refined into lithium carbonate and/or lithium metal at the proposed site for use in batteries.

The Calgary-based company expects Clearwater to cost approximately $2.5 billion US with an initial production of 32,250 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year, then falling to an average of 25,850 tonnes per year over a 50-year period.

The pre-feasibility study was released June 26, and E3 Lithium held a webinar after its shares took a hit due to “a bit of a misunderstanding on the capital side,” E3’s president and CEO Chris Doornbos said at the event.

“We need a local supply” of lithium hydroxide to meet rising demand for the metal for battery manufacturing in North America, Doornbos added.

He and CFO Raymond Chow spoke about the schedule for Clearwater, the expected production and the environmental sustainability of the project.

An 'industry competitive' lithium site

Doornbos said the study answered questions about how the lithium would be extracted from brines in the Leduc and Nisku reservoirs.

The site would be a first-of-its-kind lithium processing site in Alberta, he said. Doornbos also highlighted the close proximity to infrastructure, transportation and a skilled energy workforce as advantages of the location.

At Clearwater, brine would be extracted from underground, then de-gassed and stored to undergo direct lithium extraction. The brine would be returned underground as the lithium hydroxide is converted into lithium carbonate.

The study found reserves of 1.29 million tonnes of lithium hydroxide, equal to 1.13 million tonnes of lithium carbonate, at Clearwater.

The $2.5-billion US upfront capital cost for Clearwater assumes an initial production and nameplate capacity of 32,250 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year. Operating costs are projected to be $6,200 US per tonne of lithium hydroxide. Chow said it has a low initial operating expense, while Doornbos said it is “industry competitive.”

Payback from Clearwater is expected from 4.25 years.

The plan laid out in the presentation is for a feasibility study in September. E3 can start project financing in Q3 2025, followed by permits, equipment orders and a final investment decision in Q4 2025. By the first half of 2026 construction can begin, with commissioning in Q3 or Q4 of 2027 for the facility.

Doornbos said Canadian and U.S. banks and boutique mine financiers want off-takers and a performance guarantee, which explains its use of a third-party technology provider to get the debt financing to build the project.

It also seeks to bring in a strategic partner from industries such as energy, mining, automotive and batteries. E3 has a “large number” of non-binding memoranda of understanding signed with companies, Doornbos said, to build relationships.

Chow anticipates the facility will be eligible for cleantech minerals investment tax credits from the Canadian government.

Sustainable lithium refining

Minimizing environmental impact will be important to E3, Doornbos said.

“We’re building a modern project. We’re building a project for the 21st century. We’re building a project that enables us to produce a product that has all of the aspects of it that the world is now demanding to ensure that we’re building a sustainable future."

The facility may incorporate carbon capture equipment, and the company does not plan to discharge water from its operations into the local environment. Recycled and make-up water from the waste brine stream are to supply the facility.

The land footprint is to be small — 10 per cent of the surface footprint compared to hard rock mining and four per cent relative to solar evaporation.

E3 expects 1.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per tonne of lithium hydroxide if the carbon capture and sequestration is installed, compared to an average of five to 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from its competition, Doornbos said in the webinar.