Geo40 technology, backed by Kānoa, key feature in Cornwall
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO MEDIA AND SHAREHOLDERS, 14 JUNE 2021
As global leaders gathered for the G7 summit in Cornwall, Geo40’s Direct Lithium Recovery technology was exhibited at lithium explorer Cornish Lithium’s drill-site in South West England, where the companies hope to sustainably recover lithium from groundwaters present in historic tin mines using Geo40 technology.
The Company has successfully recovered lithium from groundwaters sourced from Europe, South America and New Zealand at laboratory scale. Geo40 has commercialised technology for the recovery of nano-silica from geothermal fluids and commissioned a c$20m largescale plant near Taupo in February this year, built in partnership with Kānoa – REDIU, the New Zealand Government’s regional economic development and investment unit, and alongside Contact Energy and the Ngati Tahu Tribal Lands Trust.
Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit Robert Pigou says that “Geo40 is developing breakthrough technology that can play a pivotal role in the decarbonisation of industry and transport, is genuinely sustainable and is creating high-value regional jobs, particularly for Māori – and as such our objectives are well-aligned. We’re delighted to play a role in supporting their journey.” Kānoa – REDIU currently holds a $5m equity stake in the Company alongside the provision of a debt facility.
Geo40 CEO and Managing Director John Worth said, “We’ve been working hard on our lithium technology for the last two years and we are now at the point where we are ready to showcase what we can do. European automakers are actively searching for sustainable sources of lithium for EV batteries, so the G7 is a great opportunity to profile what we are working on. We’re really pleased that Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit is supporting us,” said Worth.
Worth also noted that Kānoa – REDIU’s support helped Geo40 attract new capital from New Zealand venture firm Pacific Channel last month. In 2020, the Company’s early work on lithium attracted the attention of Bill Gates’ climate-change fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, who indirectly invested in Geo40 via Swedish affiliate Baseload Capital.
The Company is also working closely with Puna Group of Argentina, who hold 140,000 hectares of land with subsurface lithium-rich brines. Geo40 hopes to undertake lithium recovery work in Argentina at pilot scale in the medium term. Geo40’s technology is attracting international attention as it may offer a viable and sustainable alternative to current industrial processes.
“It’s very exciting, but we know that success will only come from putting our heads down and diligently continuing to fully develop the process and then through working alongside the best lithium explorers in the business,” said Worth.
Additional Information:
Geo40 was established in 2011 in Taupo, New Zealand by a Rotorua-born mining engineer backed by successful global resource-industry executives seeking to develop methods to recover strategic metals sustainably. The Company has been supported in its development by a range of loyal investors, the Government of New Zealand and financial institutions Euroz-Hartleys and Jarden.
Geo40 recently commissioned its Ohaaki Northern Plant, a c$20m world-first, silica-from-geothermal-fluid plant on Contact Energy’s Ohaaki Power Plant site, in the North Island of New Zealand. This development was made possible with the support of the Ngati Tahu Tribal Lands Trust, Contact Energy, the New Zealand Government’s Provincial Growth Fund and Jarden Partners Limited. The Northern Plant has a production capacity of over 5,000 tonnes of colloidal silica per annum.
Geo40’s colloidal silica products can be used for nano-technology application, including precision investment casting and refractory fibre bonding and are being sold to customers as far afield as the USA, Mexico and Japan. Local customers include coatings company Resene, and the Company is working closely with the concrete sector in the development of low-carbon concrete.
The Company is also targeting applications where silica can be used to displace less sustainable products currently used in dust and sediment control applications. The Company’s Geoseal colloidal silica products can replace the usage of polymers which may break down into micro-plastics and contribute to pollution in waterways. As a naturally occurring and abundant mineral, silica offers a non-toxic and robust solution for major infrastructure developments.
Geo40 commenced development of a direct lithium recovery process in 2019, and in 2020 ran a small pilot plant that successfully recovered lithium from geothermal fluid near Taupo in New Zealand. The Company’s process was developed to be relevant to the recovery of lithium from geothermal brines where lithium is often present in low concentrations. Since then, the Company has successfully trialled its technology on a wider range of global geothermal fluids. Geo40’s approach leverages ultrafiltration technology successfully deployed at scale in its Ohaaki Northern Plant silica recovery operation.
