Nevada Lithium jumps on Korean extraction pact

Nevada Lithium Resources (TSXV: NVLH; US‑OTC: NVLHF) jumped as much as 32% by midday Wednesday after South Korea’s Hydro Lithium agreed to test patented extraction technology at the Bonnie Claire lithium‑boron project in Nevada.

The Sept. 7 letter of intent covers testing Hydro’s CULX (lithium extraction from natural resources) and CULH (battery-grade lithium chemical production) processes. The agreement also outlines cooperation on other North American projects.

Hydro operates a plant in Geumsan-gun, southwest South Korea, producing lithium hydroxide and carbonate at approximately 3,600 tonnes per year.

“Our proprietary CULX technology addresses the challenge of extracting lithium economically from difficult resources,” Hydro CEO Uong Chon said in a press release.

The tie‑up gives Nevada Lithium options to improve recoveries and costs as it advances Bonnie Claire, a sediment‑hosted deposit where recent work expanded a higher‑grade lower zone. The project is one of the few big lithium clay and brine prospects in the U.S. It’s gaining attention as Washington focuses on boosting domestic critical minerals supply.

Shares were up C4.5¢ in Toronto at C18.5¢ apiece. Nevada Lithium has a market capitalization of C$45.5 million.

Economic study

Nevada Lithium updated its preliminary economic assessment last month to add the lower zone and other work completed over the past three years. The study outlines an underground operation using hydraulic borehole mining at 2.92 million tonnes a year of feed grading about 4,500 parts per million lithium.

At prices of $24,000 (C$33,364) per tonne for lithium carbonate and $950 per tonne for boric acid, the project shows an after-tax net present value of $6.83 billion. It has a 32.3% internal rate of return and a payback period of 2.8 years on an initial investment of $2.1 billion.

Nameplate output averages about 62,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate and 130,000 tonnes a year of boric acid over a projected 61‑year mine life.

The company will evaluate Hydro’s technologies to potentially include it in future studies, Nevada Lithium CEO Stephen Rentschler said.

He highlighted Chon’s prior work on South Korean industrial conglomerate POSCO’s PosLX system and Hydro’s development of the CULX/CULH processes.

Nevada Lithium consolidated all of Bonnie Claire in 2023 after previously holding the property 50/50 with Iconic Minerals (TSXV: ICM; US‑OTC: BVTEF). The deposit remains open for expansion.