American Battery publishes pre-feasibility study on Tonopah Flats project

American Battery (ABAT) Technology published the S-K 1300 Technical Report and Pre-Feasibility Study for its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project near Tonopah, Nevada. The study confirms the project’s robust economic potential and potential strategic importance as a cornerstone of the domestic critical mineral lithium supply chain. Tonopah Flats Lithium Project PFS Highlights: Facility Production: 30,000 tonnes/yr lithium hydroxide monohydrate, with project economics calculated for a 45-year life-of-mine utilizing only southern portion of property; Financially Competitive: After-tax NPV@8% of $2.57B, IRR 21.8%, and 7.5 year payback from initial investment; Highly Competitive Production Cost: Reduction to $4,307/tonne LHM production cost, 9.2% reduction from April 2024 Initial Assessment; Increased Grade: Grade entering refinery increased to approximately 2,100 ppm Li from approximately 800 ppm Li through beneficiation techniques to remove low-lithium bearing components from bulk claystone; Lowered Energy Cost: Integrated behind-the-meter onsite power generation with battery energy storage system supplements grid electricity in order to synergistically optimize facility energy management, results in substantially lower effective cost of electricity; Proven Scale-Up: Multi-tonne per day integrated pilot facility constructed and commissioned in 2024 to further optimize operational parameters, reduce energy consumption, and increase recovery and local recycling of chemical agents; Significant Increase in Resource+ and Reserve Classifications: Sizeable 53% increase in Measured and Indicated Resources, and total increase in lithium resources of 11% compared to April 2024 Initial Assessment; Establishment of 2.73 million tonnes of LHM proven and probable reserves, under applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rules, which is the part of a mineral resource that has been confirmed as economically and legally mineable through a comprehensive and reliable report; Selected for Streamlined Permitting by Trump Administration: In June 2025, the ABTC TFLP was selected by the FAST-41 Permitting Council and the National Energy Dominance Council as a Transparency Priority Project in accordance with President Trump’s March 20th Executive Order “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production” in order to “identify priority projects that can be immediately approved or for which permits can be immediately issued, and take all necessary or appropriate actions within the agency’s authority to expedite and issue the relevant permits or approvals”. In August 2025 the TFLP was subsequently upgraded to a full Covered Project by the FAST-41 Permitting Council, resulting in even further resources being assigned towards the streamlining of these federal permitting efforts; Significant Completion of Permitting Efforts: ABTC has completed and submitted all required NEPA Baseline Reports for the permitting of the TFLP, as well as a comprehensive Mine Plan of Operations, which are currently under review by the BLM; Initial Approval for Low-Cost Financing for Facility Buildout: In April 2025 ABTC received initial approval for low-cost debt financing of $900M through a Letter of Interest from the US Export-Import Bank to support the buildout of the TFLP facility.