DLE Weekly delivers the latest insights on Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies, industry developments, and market trends. Stay tuned to see how DLE is shaping the future of sustainable energy.
DLE Weekly - 13 June 2025
Global Business, BICHEM Group
Bolivian court pauses Chinese, Russian lithium deals
Bolivia's plans to emerge as a major lithium producer have hit an impasse after a local court ordered the suspension of two major extraction deals signed last year valued at more than $2 billion.
The deals aimed to establish direct lithium extraction (DLE) facilities in the Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia, which is host one of the world’s largest lithium reserves, and forms part of the larger Lithium Triangle shared with Chile and Argentina.
Both projects have yet to receive legislative approvals but had already initiated preliminary activities on-site, which the local group claimed were conducted without proper authorization or environmental assessments.
Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), Bolivia’s state-owned lithium company, holds a 51% stake in the two ventures. Together, the proposed plants are expected to produce 35,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year, Omar Alarcon, head of YLB, said in a press conference last year.
Álvaro Arnez, vice-minister of Alternative Energies, in a statement to El Periódico de la Energía, brushed aside allegations that unauthorized exploratory operations were already impacting local water availability.
Meanwhile, Minister of Economy Marcelo Montenegro dismissed the ruling as a “politically motivated obstacle to regional development.”
White Plains Lithium Brine Project
The newly staked claims, totaling 760 in number, are situated around 200 km west of Salt Lake City and cover a substantial portion of a landlocked hypersaline salt pan bounded by mountains on three sides — a geological setting the company believes could host lithium brine mineralisation.
The project, which is called the White Plains, lies in a region already attracting lithium and potash developers, with Intrepid Potash’s Wendover operations nearby and direct lithium extraction projects operated by US Magnesium and Waterleaf Resources at the Great Salt Lake.
Lithium Energy who is the owner of this project identified it as a project that shows similar potential for value-add for it aligns with the company's sharpened focus on battery minerals, particularly in mining-friendly jurisdictions with high domestic demand for lithium. Utah’s regulatory support and proximity to downstream battery supply chains in the US are expected to be strategic advantages.
Chilean Government Processing Two New Applications for CEOL
Applications for special lithium operating contracts (CEOLs) proposed by two Chilean local private sector players in key areas with potential for polymetallic projects and lithium extraction from clays are under governmental processing. The first is the Llamara group, which submitted a proposal for the Quillagua Norte area, and the second is for a consortium made up of Wealth Minerals Chile, Minera Aspromin, Inversiones Valeska Minerals and Alto Exploradora for the Quillagua Este area.
The two zones are located on the border of Antofagasta and Tarapacá regions in the Llamara salt flat, a deposit composed of clays with presence of magnesium, lithium and other minerals.
The interested parties proved to the authorities that they owned a share of mining concessions covering at least 80% of each polygon and demonstrated experience in mining or the lithium value chain, and financial capacity, requirements set by the authorities to apply for a CEOL.
Once the ongoing indigenous consultations are concluded and the supreme decree establishing the terms of the contracts is issued, the CEOLs will be signed.
Mobile DLE Unit Commissioned in North Dakota's Bakken region
Volt Lithium has announced the final assembly and imminent deployment of its proprietary mobile direct lithium extraction (DLE) unit in North Dakota's Bakken region.
The initiative is being undertaken in collaboration with Wellspring Hydro, with commissioning scheduled for the second half of June 2025. It has secured a combined $2.5m in funding through the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Clean Sustainable Energy Authority and Renewable Energy Programme.
The development aligns with Volt Lithium’s strategy to partner with key US oilfield infrastructure players to extract lithium from produced water streams, a byproduct of oil and gas production.
Volt Lithium’s proprietary technology and process are designed to adapt to multiple brine chemistries, which has facilitated the company’s expansion into North Dakota’s Bakken region.
This area, along with the Permian Basin, strategically positions Volt in two of North America’s largest oil-producing basins.
The potential for lithium extraction is substantial, with up to 170,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) annually in the Permian and up to 50,000tpa of LCE in the Bakken, which has nearly three-times the lithium concentration compared with the Permian.
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