Electra Battery says ‘optimizations’ improve critical minerals revoveries, sales

Electra Battery Materials provided an update on its battery materials recycling trial taking place at the Ontario refinery complex. Recent optimizations have resulted in additional improved recoveries of lithium, nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals, further bolstering the quality of saleable products. At this time, the plant-scale black mass recycling trial is largely complete, and the Company is compiling an internal report detailing the proprietary methodologies used, as well as various optimizations and modular growth scenarios. “Throughout this 12-month demonstration operation, our team has continued to refine and optimize the processes resulting in successive improvements to the saleable products…Electra has improved its lithium carbonate product quality by nearly 20% from its initial processing and product quality is now approaching “technical grade” lithium carbonate. Discussions are ongoing with lithium companies to assess the tradeoffs between collaboration or producing a technical grade in-house. ..Manganese recovery rate has been further improved to approximately 95% by strategically modifying the use and sequencing of reagents…Continued optimization studies are underway, including metal recovery from internal recycling streams such as reusing tailings water as process water to feed the plant, thus making the process entirely closed circuit with minimal environmental impacts. Preliminary results of laboratory work to explore the potential of isolating cobalt from nickel contained in the leach liquor using hydrometallurgical methods are positive. Isolating the cobalt could improve the overall payability of both the resultant cobalt and nickel product…Recovery rates for all targeted metals – lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese – have improved since the start of the trial in December 2022…The reduction in reagent use and substitution of certain reagents are expected to lower operating expenses, thereby improving the economics of continuous recycling operations.