Lithium Power International Ltd. said March 14 that it secured a key regulatory export license from the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission to produce, market and export lithium products from its 50%-owned Maricunga lithium brine project in Chile for a 30-year period.
Under the agreement, the company is allowed an initial extraction quota of 88,885 tonnes of lithium contained in brine, or 472,868 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, from its grandfathered concessions registered before 1979.
Minera Salar Blanco SpA, the company's Chilean joint venture company responsible for developing the feasibility-stage project, will be able to request an increase from the initial quota upon securing a special operation contract covering mining concessions registered after 1979.
The company will submit its special operation contract request this month, with an environmental impact assessment to be submitted in April.
The joint venture company is also allowed to request a quota increase upon upgrading resources at the project. In addition, the quota will automatically increase when the efficiency rate of the production plant is improved from the initial 40% rate.
In February, Lithium Power outlined plans to complete its 50% earn-in on the Maricunga project by up to six months ahead of schedule, following a successful preliminary economic assessment in December 2017.
