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The SWA Project is intended as the first of several projects to be developed by the JV throughout the Smackover Region, and it is envisaged that the major design decisions and learnings from this first greenfield facility will form the basis for future expansion phases or projects. The Project team consciously used conservative adoption of pilot and demonstration plant learnings during the FEED design phase for this Project. As such, certain process redundancies, resource producibility and operating practice assumptions have been utilized throughout in order to ensure robustness. It is expected that learnings from this first commercial phase will result in reduced capital intensity and operating costs for future projects developed by the JV in the Smackover Formation. The initial phase of the SWA Project as illustrated is projected to produce battery-quality lithium carbonate with 22,500 tpa of total production capacity over a 20-year operating life. Highlights from this initial phase of production are provided in Table 1 below.

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Table 1: Definitive Feasibility Study Highlights

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Notes:
All model outputs are expressed on a 100% ownership basis with no adjustments for project financing assumptions. Standard Lithium’s economic interest in the Project is 55%. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects.
[1] Tonnes (1,000 kg) per annum.
[2] Plant design and financial modelling based on 20-year economic life. Proven and Probable Reserves together support a 40-year operating life.
[3] Barrels per day. 1 cubic meter per hour = 151 barrels per day.
[4] Capital Expenditures include 12.3% contingency determined with Monte Carlo Risk analysis.
[5] No inflation or escalation factor has been applied for the economic modelling.
[6] Includes operating expenditures, royalties, sustaining capital and closure costs.
[7] Royalties include quarterly gross lithium royalty of 2.5% as approved by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (“AOGC”), an additional brine fee of $65/acre per year and override fees payable on certain optioned brine leases.
[8] Selling price of battery-quality lithium carbonate based on a flat assumed price of $22,400/t over total Project lifetime. Represents average of 20-year forward pricing curve provided by Fastmarkets for battery-quality lithium carbonate, commencing in 2028.
[9] Illustrative after-tax calculations based on assumption that SWA Lithium, LLC is taxed as a stand-alone US C-Corporation, and does not include the potential impact of currently held corporate net operating losses or credits, nor potential tax shields generated from financing. Assumes a U.S. Federal income tax rate of 21%, a State of Arkansas income tax rate of 3.4%, and includes the impact of ad valorem and other local taxes.

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To support execution and a successful development approach, the SWA Project will be developed under the following key areas:

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Wellfield: comprises four (4) well pads supporting twelve (12) supply and ten (10) injection wells, brine gathering pipelines from the well pads to the central processing facility, brine return pipelines from the central processing facility to the well pads and a gas gathering system from well pads to a disposal well in the area, with the ability to add a fifth well pad with two supply and two injection wells as needed.

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Central Processing Facility (“CPF”): includes brine handling facilities suitable for processing up to 200,000 bbl/d (1,325 cubic meters per hour or “m³/h”) of brine, including sour gas handling, brine filtration, the LSS DLE, purification and concentration of the lithium chloride stream, conversion to a battery-quality lithium carbonate with final product crystallization, drying, micronizing, bagging and handling facilities and all associated utilities. The CPF will be located on the SWA Property on a 118-acre plot within the wider Project boundary located approximately 7 miles (11 kilometers) south of Lewisville on State Highway 29.

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Subject to an FID which is currently targeted for around year-end 2025, the JV is aiming for construction to begin in 2026 with first commercial operations in 2028.

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Processing Overview

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The Project comprises a wellfield development for production of lithium rich brine from the upper unit of the Smackover Formation aquifer. Twelve (12) production wells grouped on four (4) pads will be used to pump brine to the surface and any gas will be separated at the wellhead and sent by pipeline to a third-party operator for disposal. The lithium rich brine will be sent to the CPF to extract the lithium in the form of lithium chloride and convert it into battery-quality lithium carbonate. The CPF is designed to process a feed brine flowrate of up to 200,000 bbl/d (1,325 m³/h) with annual production capacity of 22,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate.

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The lithium depleted brine is subsequently returned to the wellfield for reinjection into the Smackover Formation via ten (10) injection wells grouped on three of the four production pads. The reinjection supports reservoir pressure maintenance and facilitates the sweep of fresh brine to the production wells. A fifth production and injection pad is planned to be added at a later date as needed to support operations.

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The feed brine entering the production facility will be treated, filtered, and then processed via the licensed LSS process to produce raw lithium chloride (see news release dated 28th October 2024). The raw lithium chloride will then be purified and concentrated prior to conversion into battery-quality lithium carbonate while the lithium depleted brine and ancillary waste streams are returned for reinjection. The LSS technology licence guarantees lithium recovery (≥ 95%), contaminant rejection (including but not limited to calcium, sodium, potassium & magnesium ≥ 99%) and water use, as well as security of supply for the sorbent media.

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The LSS process has been extensively de-risked in that it has been proven to selectively extract lithium chloride from Smackover brine for nearly three years, including operating a commercial scale DLE unit at Standard Lithium’s continuously operating Demonstration Plant located in El Dorado, Arkansas since April 2024. Over a four-month continuous operating period (April to July 2024), the LSS process consistently achieved average lithium recovery of 95.4% and average key contaminant rejection of >99% (see news release dated 28th October 2024).

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In addition, the JV constructed a dedicated LSS field pilot plant and operated it over a 3-month period using brine sourced from the SWA Project area and successfully processed 2,385 bbl (379 m³) of brine. The LSS field pilot plant operated for nearly 500 operating cycles, produced approximately 23 barrels (3.7 m³) of concentrated and purified lithium chloride solution (6% LiCl) and exceeded key performance criteria to confirm the engineering design, recovering over 99% of lithium from the brine (see news release dated 11th March 2025).

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As of the date of this news release, Standard Lithium has completed over 12,000 cycles of LSS testing and has processed roughly 830,000 barrels (132,000 m³) of brine using the chosen DLE technology.

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The LSS process produces a high-quality lithium chloride solution that is further purified and concentrated by means of reverse osmosis, chemical softening and ion exchange. After purification and concentration of the raw lithium chloride, a conventional two-stage lithium carbonate crystallization process will be used for final conversion of the polished concentrated lithium chloride into battery-quality lithium carbonate.

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Purified, concentrated lithium chloride output from the LSS field pilot plant was sent to selected equipment vendors and converted into battery-quality lithium carbonate with positive results exceeding all purity specifications. These lithium carbonate samples are expected to play a key role in the qualification process with prospective off-take partners and aid in the ability of vendors to provide vendor guarantees for the entire carbonation circuit.

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Production Plan and Assumptions

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The DFS contemplates initial production capacity of 22,500 tonnes per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate over a 20-year modeled operating life, producing 447,000 tonnes LCE (Proven Reserves) from the Reynolds Brine Unit (see Table 6). This production represents 38% of the in-situ Measured and Indicated Resources (see Table 5). The Project has the potential to operate over a 40-year life based on the total Proven and Probable Reserves of 709,000 tonnes LCE (see Table 6).

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CAPEX

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A contingency of 12.3% was applied to total direct and indirect costs, resulting in an estimated all-in capital cost of $1.45 billion.

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The JV has undertaken efforts to de-risk the design and construction process for the Project and achieve on-time delivery. In addition to a detailed FEED study supported by extensive equipment testing, this includes extensive market sounding and short-listing of execution phase contractors; vendor engagement; preparation and issuance of a detailed Request for Proposal including General Terms and Conditions which set out construction performance and schedule guarantees to achieve on-time construction; as well as guarantees related to the production of battery-quality lithium carbonate at the facilities’ designed capacity.

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Table 2: CAPEX Summary^[1,2,3]

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Notes:
[1] Direct costs were estimated using vendor-supplied quotes for all major equipment.
[2] Indirect costs include all contractor costs (including engineering), indirect labor costs and owner’s engineer costs.
[3] All costs were developed by the Project’s selected FEED contractors at AACE Class III level and were benchmarked by an external third-party to ensure robustness.
[4] Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects.

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OPEX

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The average cash operating cost over the life of the Project is $4,516/t of lithium carbonate. Average all-in operating cost, including sustaining capital expenditures and known brine royalties and fees, is $5,924/t.

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Table 3: OPEX Summary

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Notes:
[1] Operating costs are calculated based on an average determined over the 20-year operating life.
[2] Approximately 106 full-time equivalent positions.
[3] Includes contract maintenance, solids waste disposal, mobile equipment and external lab service.
[4] Includes general and administrative expenses.
[5] Royalties include quarterly gross lithium royalty of 2.5% as approved by the AOGC, an additional brine fee of $65/acre per year and override fees payable on certain optioned brine leases.
[6] Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects.

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Project Economics

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The Project’s financial results are derived from inputs based on the annual production schedule as set forth in the DFS and summarized in Table 1. Sensitivity analysis on the pre-tax unlevered economic results over a 20-year modeled operating life are summarized in Table 4 below.

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Table 4: Sensitivity Analysis

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Mineral Resource Assessment

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The SWA Project encompasses approximately 30,000 acres of brine leases in the region, and the upgraded resource in the DFS considers this total area, pictured in the map below (see Figure 1). The initial commercial phase of the Project is focused on the Reynolds Brine Unit in the southern half of the total Project area (20,854 acres of mineral leases approved for production). The DFS Project economics are focused on this initial phase of development, which contemplates production of battery-quality lithium carbonate at annual production capacity of 22,500 tonnes over a 20-year modeled operating life, but the JV is planning to develop additional phases of the Project in the total Project area, including the expansion area as shown in Figure 1 (the “Expansion Area”). 

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Figure 1: Brine Unit Map

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