CleanTech Lithium inaugurates DLE plant in Chile
CleanTech Lithium PLC () inaugurated its direct lithium extraction (DLE) pilot plant in the city of Copiapó, Atacama Region, on Thursday 23rd May 2024.
The ceremony was attended by authorities, business representatives, community members, and academics.
In particular, attendees at the ceremony included the Presidential Delegate of the Atacama Region, Luis Pino, Regional Councillor Javier Castillo; CORFO Director Rosa Román; CORPROA President Andrés Rubilar; miners' union president Joel Carrizo.
Indigenous community representatives Christián Milla and Ercilia Araya, also spoke at the ceremony, highlighting the company's plan to collaborate with local communities to develop sustainable lithium production in Chile.
"We are extremely proud to inaugurate our DLE pilot plant,” said Steve Kesler, executive chairman of CleanTech Lithium.
“The start of our plant's operations is concrete evidence of our commitment to Chile and the Atacama region to advance sustainable lithium production, preparing to meet the international markets' demand for battery-grade lithium, and adhering to the conditions established in the National Lithium Strategy by the Chilean government. We are nearing the point of becoming one of the first DLE-based companies in Chile to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate."
Ercilia Araya Altamirano, President of the Pai-Ote Community, commented: "Today we are here in Piedra Colgada, inaugurating CleanTech Lithium's plant. We have been getting to know it; the last time we visited it was smaller, and now it is larger and more developed. The challenge of the plant is very interesting. We believe that it can be a very good methodology to implement in the upper territory (in the mountains) with minimal impact. We know there will be some impact, but in this way, I do not think we will have major problems.”
View from Vox
This development is more than just ceremonial. It is part of the process of embedding the CleanTech operation into the local community cleanly, usefully, and without fuss. Work will continue on anthropological and human environment assessments, even as the first product from the pilot plant undergoes processing in the USA. The shares ticked up slightly on the news, and have more than doubled in value over the past month or so.
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