Prairie Lithium starts building Saskatchewan DLE facility

Australia’s Prairie Lithium (ASX: PL9) has kicked off construction in Saskatchewan of what it says would be the largest direct lithium extraction (DLE) facility in North America.

Prairie’s facility would have a total of four commercial-scale DLE columns, with an anticipated arrival date in April, the company said Tuesday in a statement. The successful de-risking of one commercial-scale column in Arkansas over the past 18 months, combined with the high-quality brine from its lithium project, supports confidence in the technology’s performance and scalability, Prairie said.

For now, a Standard Lithium (TSXV: SLI) plant in Arkansas is believed to be the biggest DLE facility. In March 2024, the Canadian company successfully installed and commissioned the Li-Pro lithium selective sorption commercial-scale unit supplied by Koch Technology Solutions (now Aquatech).

Construction on the lithium extraction facility at Pad #1 has now begun, with completion of the foundation expected in the first quarter of 2026 and building construction to follow. The application to connect the wells and facility at Pad #1 to grid power has also been submitted to SaskPower.

“The construction on our lithium extraction facility at Pad #1 is a strong step forward on our critical path to production. The groundwork we are laying now will host what we believe will be the largest known direct lithium extraction facility in North America,” Paul Lloyd, Prairie Lithium’s managing director, said in a press release.

Prairie plans to use conventional oil and gas drilling and completion methods to access lithium-rich brine from aquifers about 2.3 km underground before separating the lithium from the brine using DLE technology.

The property comprises over 1,396 sq. km of subsurface permits in the Duperow Formation. It contains an estimated 4.6 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent in measured and indicated resources.