On-site Facilities

Laboratory Facility
Lithium Americas has built an on-site laboratory facility which has full analytical capabilities to analyze lithium, potassium, magnesium, and all relevant elements present in the brine.  The laboratory studies have defined a process path for the recovery of lithium, and the Company has already produced lithium carbonate at lab scale.

Evaporation Ponds
Lithium Americas has completed 3 different sizes of evaporation ponds.  The Company’s smallest ponds (approximately 3m in diameter), have been in operation for greater than 6 months.  These ponds have the capability of simulating, at a small scale, the evaporation process of a future full scale facility.  The Company then completed a 45m x 14m pond.  This pond was designed to produce concentrated brine for the production of lithium carbonate at pilot scale, further allowing the Company to define the path to commercial production.  Finally, Lithium Americas has completed the construction of its largest pond – 1ha in total size.  This pond will be used to refine the overall evaporation process.

Photos of the Company’s laboratory facilities and evaporation ponds can be seen in the Photo Gallery.