Greenwing Resources Ltd has selected four Direct Lithium Extraction pilot partners to advance a staged testwork program for the San Jorge Lithium Brine Project in the Salar de San Francisco, Catamarca Province, Argentina.

The selection follows a structured screening of more than 30 global DLE technology providers and 11 direct engagements, moving the program from desktop shortlisting into partner-based bench-scale testwork on representative bulk brine samples drawn from shallower and deeper intervals of the resource.

The evaluation program covers the three principal DLE technology classes. Adsorption remains the most commercially mature technology and the primary development case for San Jorge, while ion exchange and solvent extraction will be benchmarked against it to determine the best technical and commercial fit for the project's brine chemistry, which carries relatively low chloride and elevated sulphate levels.

A flowsheet Trade-Off Study confirmed that DLE is required as the extraction pathway for San Jorge across all development scenarios due to elevated magnesium-to-lithium ratios precluding conventional evaporation. The current partner testing is designed to generate project-specific recovery, impurity rejection, and engineering data to de-risk the upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study phase and establish validated testing protocols.

“By progressing an initial DLE pathway alongside the Scoping Study, we are building the technical and economic understanding required to determine the most appropriate development pathway for San Jorge. Importantly, this work will be undertaken using our own brines, allowing technology selection to be based on actual project data.” — Peter Wright, Managing Director

Combined desktop and bench-scale evaluation programs for the selected pilot partners are expected to be completed over approximately three months. Greenwing plans to integrate testwork outcomes into process design, capital and operating cost inputs, and the project water and energy balance for the ongoing Scoping Study, while developing an extended PFS testwork program based on partner results.

Read the full announcement: San Jorge Lithium Project - Selection of DLE Pilot Partners