SMM April 23 Cobalt oxide spot Express: downstream orders down Cobalt oxide is tough

September 15th Lithium Africa has defined a second spodumene trend at its Agboville Project in Côte d'Ivoire, with rock samples returning up to 1.98% lithium oxide (Li2O). The company reports 19 spodumene-bearing pegmatite samples from the Kanien trend, 14 above 1% Li2O, extending 2.8 km along a sheared muscovite granite within the licence. Kanien is the district's second primary spodumene trend, alongside the Saby trend, where trenching returned 8 m at 1.1% Li2O. CEO Thomas Benson said the results point to an emerging lithium district rather than isolated occurrences. Kanien lies along strike of spodumene samples up to 1.36% Li2O on an adjacent licence, together defining a spodumene pegmatite corridor of about 7 km across the licence boundary. The company holds about 485 km² of granted licence via a 50/50 joint venture, and has applied for the adjacent 368 km² Sikensi licence. A 2,000 m RC drilling program at Saby was paused for the rainy season after 1,137 m, with results targeted for Q4 2026. The Agboville licence covers 399.27 km², about 85 km north of Abidjan, adding a new West African exploration target to the global spodumene pipeline.

The Nevada North Lithium joint venture between Surge Battery Metals and Evolution Mining has produced 99.95% battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) from project ore in the US, supporting a Prefeasibility Study for the project. Kemetco Research produced crude Li2CO3 assaying 99% from the Nevada North master composite via beneficiation, sulphuric acid leaching, solution purification, and carbonate precipitation. A portion was refined to the 99.95% battery-grade product. Leaching achieved lithium extractions above 93% at 475 kg acid per tonne of feed, rising to about 98% at higher acid addition, completing within one hour at 90°C. Attrition and screening recovered 98.9% of lithium into the fine fraction while rejecting about 75% of the acid consuming carbonate. CEO Greg Reimer said the work demonstrates the full chain from sedimentary clay to refined battery-grade product. Focus now shifts to pilot-scale testing of recovery, consistency, reagent consumption, and energy performance. Surge also holds the San Emidio Lithium Project in Nevada, adding a US clay-based lithium supply source to the market pipeline.

Lithium Corporation has fully commissioned and started operating its Falchani lithium pilot plant, in Peru, with operating systems performing as expected. The plant, advanced by consultancy TECMMINE in Lima, is achieving average lithium extraction rates of 88.7%, above the 80% recovery rate expected in a 2024 preliminary economic assessment. With all flowsheet equipment installed and testing, American Lithium is advancing toward full end-to-end flowsheet validation at scale in continuous mode, to confirm bench-scale results. The pilot plant is expected to run continuously at target rates for three months, processing six to ten tonnes of ore from Falchani. Results will feed into future feasibility work.Falchani's volcanic-hosted lithium mineralisation has naturally low impurities, supporting a simple flowsheet capable of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate exceeding 99.5% purity, adding a potential new South American lithium supply source to the market.