3Q Project — 2018 Technical Report

The 3Q Project is a multi-site lithium brine operation designed to produce 20,000 tonnes per year of Battery Grade Lithium Carbonate over a 35-year period.

The 3Q Project consists of extracting lithium-rich brine from the 3Q Salar and processing it across three sites to produce 20,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of Battery Grade Lithium Carbonate (Lithium Carbonate BG) for a 35-year life. Production is staged in three phases to account for declining lithium grades over time. The initial phase produces 20,000 TPA for 10 years with an average brine extraction of 257 L/s and a predicted lithium content of 1,000 mg/L. The second and third phases involve lower lithium grades and higher extraction rates. The design includes three main production units: brine extraction at the 3Q Salar, intermediate processing at the Fiambalá Site, and final product manufacturing at the Recreo Site.

Critical Data

Overview

The project uses a multi-site approach. Brine is first extracted at the 3Q Salar, where it is pre-concentrated and purified. The resulting refined brine is then transported to the Fiambalá Site for boron removal and additional calcium removal. Finally, the purified brine is sent to the Recreo Site, where lithium carbonate is precipitated, dried, and packaged. The design specifies three main production units, each with distinct process steps and mass balance targets.

Key Process Stages

• 3Q Salar Site – Pre-Concentration Ponds: This system is divided into two stages. In the first stage, sodium chloride salts (halite) and potassium salts (primarily sylvinite) precipitate from the brine. The precipitated solids are sent to a potassium stockpile for possible future use, as potassium by-products are not currently a primary objective. The brine is then directed to a second transfer pond. Harvesting of salts must occur every 2 to 3 years to maintain pond volume capacity.
• 3Q Salar Site – Calcium Removal Ponds System: In the second stage, the pre-concentrated brine (saturated in CaCl₂·6H₂O) is processed in ponds and thickeners where calcium chloride is precipitated. This produces a concentrated brine with 3.42% lithium at a flow rate of 12.12 m³/h. The concentrated brine is stored and later transferred by truck to the Fiambalá Site.
• Fiambalá Site – SX-B Process: The pre-concentrated brine is mixed with an organic blend (alcohol and kerosene) in a counter-current liquid-liquid extraction process to remove boron. The brine passes through three mixer-settler units, with the output from the third unit having a very low boron content. Stripping is performed counter-currently using mother liquor from the Recreo Plant, with NaOH added at specified rates. The high boron solution is sent to a liquid waste pond.
• Fiambalá Site – Sulfate Addition Process: This process removes additional calcium from the brine by adding sodium sulfate. The process achieves a 99.45% calcium removal yield. Industrial water used to wash press filters is reused in the Na₂SO₄ reactor. The final product from this site is a refined brine with 3.66% lithium, transported by truck to Recreo.
• Recreo Site – Purification: The purified brine is treated with chemical solutions to promote the formation of magnesium hydroxide and calcium carbonate salts. Three press filters (two in operation + one stand-by) are used for solid/liquid separation. The filters recover part of the brine occluded in the salts, and the recovered brine is returned to the process.
• Recreo Site – Carbonation and Drying: Purified brine is pumped at 38.39 m³/h to three parallel reactors where lithium carbonate is precipitated by adding a soda ash solution. The resulting slurry is filtered, and the solid lithium carbonate is dried. The dried material passes through a micronizer to ensure fine particles before entering the packaging bin. Three polish filters and three press filters (with stand-by units) are specified for solid/liquid separation.

Additional Interesting Data and Summary

The process design relies on a mass balance that assumes continuous operation of the SX-B plant (24 h/day) and a flow rate design factor of 1.2 for pumps and mechanical equipment. The plant is designed with stand-by units for critical separation steps. The process water used at the Recreo Site includes industrial water for forming NaOH and Ca(OH)₂ solutions. The design criteria specify a mechanical design factor of 1.2 for the lithium carbonate plant. The production schedule is staged to manage declining lithium grades. Potassium by-products are not currently identified as a primary objective.

Key Processes

• Brine extraction at 3Q Salar (average 257 L/s initially)
• Pre-concentration via evaporation in ponds (halite and sylvinite precipitation)
• Calcium removal via precipitation as CaCl₂ in ponds and thickeners
• Boron removal via solvent extraction (SX-B) using an organic blend
• Additional calcium removal via sulfate addition
• Purification through precipitation of magnesium and calcium salts
• Carbonation with soda ash to form lithium carbonate
• Drying, sizing, and packaging of final product

Source: 3Q Project , 2018 Technical Report, 2018.

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Editorial Note (not for publication):

• The source text within the provided JSON does not contain explicit data for the "First … Year 21" phase descriptions, making the timeline for the second phase incomplete. The table marks these as "Not stated."
• The number of stages in the Recreo purification process is described as "Two stages of impurities removal" in the general overview but is unspecified in the detailed process diagrams; the text is internally consistent but not explicit on this point.
• The provided data does not mention a specific "First" phase number, but it is unnecessary for the final output.

Project website: 3Q Project, 2018 Technical Report