Rain City Participates in Technical Evaluation of Chilean Lithium Recovery Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 15, Canada's Rain City Resources announced that its Chilean subsidiary signed a scientific and technical evaluation agreement with local mining and chemical company Quiborax to conduct lithium recovery technology testing at the El Águila project in the Arica and Parinacota Region of Chile. The two parties will use Quiborax's existing materials and process flows to validate Rain City's AC²ME mineral extraction, separation, and processing technology, with a focus on assessing the feasibility of recovering lithium and other critical minerals from historical processing residues.

The El Águila project has obtained the relevant approvals under Chile's special lithium operating contract, allowing Quiborax to build processing facilities to recover lithium from existing industrial tailings. Research data cited during the CEOL approval process shows that the project's historical processing residues potentially contain approximately 19,775 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent; the existing authorization allows the project to process and sell up to 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, or to operate until December 31, 2046, whichever comes first.

Unlike newly built salt lake lithium extraction projects, El Águila primarily carries out secondary resource recovery using materials that have already been mined and stockpiled over the long term during past industrial production. At this stage, Rain City will first verify the recovery rate, selectivity, and economics of the AC²ME technology when applied to actual industrial feedstock. Chile's project regulatory framework requires the relevant processes to adopt selective lithium extraction technologies, including direct lithium extraction and other innovative mineral separation processes.

Under the cooperation framework established by both parties, if the technical testing meets the requirements for subsequent development, further steps can be taken to advance expanded testing and the construction of pilot or commercial facilities, and new commercial cooperation can be launched around technology licensing, engineering design, mineral recovery, investment and financing, product supply, and offtake. What Rain City has currently signed with Quiborax is a technical evaluation agreement, and the subsequent construction of commercial facilities for the project will proceed on the basis of the technical validation results and subsequent formal agreements.