Imerys British Lithium Limited (IBL) proposes development of the world's first integrated quarrying, beneficiation, and lithium refinery in Cornwall, targeting the production of 20,800 tpa of battery-grade lithium carbonate for at least 30 years. The project uses technologies developed by British Lithium to extract high-purity lithium from micaceous granite (polylithionite), which has never been done commercially. The Feasibility Study will now validate the economic feasibility, marketing and business plan for large-scale lithium production in the UK, using IBL's highly sustainable, novel extraction process, while maximising the recycling of process wastes. An independent environmental benchmarking study showed the IBL lithium project would have amongst the world's lowest carbon emissions and water consumption. Almost all hard-rock lithium is currently produced by chemical froth flotation of a spodumene concentrate and a two-stage acidic roast with low overall recoveries, high cost and environmental impact unlikely to be acceptable in Europe. IBL's patented "electrostatic" process concentrates the lithium-mica with high recovery, low energy input and without using chemicals. A single medium-temperature calcine neutral pH water leach, and hydrometallurgical purification extracts battery-grade lithium from the mica concentrate. IBL built a lithium pilot plant in Cornwall in 2021 which demonstrated IBL's end-to-end process from mined ore to battery-grade lithium carbonate, producing 99.9% Li2CO3\. Extensive further work has optimised and validated the metallurgical process accelerating the path to feasibility studies, customer engagement, financing, and full-scale development. The project prioritises expansion to full-scale production of a critical mineral used to fabricate cathode materials for lithium battery cells and EVs, essential for the large-scale industrialisation of a high-value domestic automotive supply chain, geared towards achieving net zero emissions. The full-scale development is expected to meet one-third of projected UK EV requirements by 2030\. The full-scale development costing over £500 million, will create 900 jobs during construction, and 300-350 direct full-time jobs. No battery-grade lithium is produced in Europe, and the supply of cathode active material (CAM), cells, batteries and EVs is dominated by Asia. Local, secure, ethical and sustainable domestic lithium supply will give the UK an advantage within Europe, helping attract strategic investment in the domestic Electric Vehicle supply chain. EVs with batteries containing UK-sourced lithium have the competitive advantage of tariff-free sale into EU, but so too, they would have a price advantage over EU-made cars sold in the UK, not meeting Rules of Origin (RoO) due to imported lithium and higher embedded carbon from longer supply chains.

This SuRP project will accelerate through validation of processes the scale-up of lithium production from pilot-scale, to a planned £446M quarry/refinery producing 20,800tpa LCE, meeting one-third of projected UK lithium requirements. British Lithium was the first company to drill for lithium in UK, and discovered a 117Mt lithium Resource in micaceous granite in Cornwall, within historic clay mining areas. As lithium has never been extracted commercially from micaceous granite, an innovative new process was required. Over the past 5 years, we developed our patent-pending LiMica-Sep(TM) and LiSep(TM) technologies. Our electrostatic process uses no chemicals to concentrate mica from granite, and a single medium-temperature calcine and neutral pH leach in water, followed by hydrometallurgical purification to produce battery-grade lithium. Financing the high capital cost for development using complex new technologies and prototype equipment requires a high level of scale-up readiness validation, which can only be achieved by extensive piloting and production of sizable samples to validate technical qualification. British Lithium's new £3 million pilot plant in Cornwall demonstrates the end-to-end process from mined ore through to battery-grade lithium carbonate. It has successfully produced 99.9% Li2CO3, however further work is proposed to refine, optimise and validate the process and to produce representative lithium samples for customer validation. Battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide are already in short supply globally, and none is yet produced in the UK or Europe. UK Li-battery demand will grow from 2,000tpa to 75,000tpa LCE by 2035, and global demand from 225,000tpa to 2.5Mtpa. Cells made from imported lithium are unlikely to meet Rules of Origin (RoO) in free-trade agreements. Currently, 82% of UK built cars are exported, 55% of them to the EU. By 2027, EVs must have at least 55% local content, and a battery with either 65% local content for the cell, or 70% for the battery. UK made EVs with batteries containing UK sourced lithium would have the competitive advantage of tariff-free sale into the EU, but so too they would have a local price advantage over cars made in the EU, not meeting RoO due to imported lithium, and therefore subjected to a 10% UK tariff. The availability of local lithium supply is expected to foment further investment in the downstream supply chain. An independent environmental impact study benchmarked our process and proposed full-scale project to existing and proposed lithium producers, proving our environmental, carbon, water and ESG performance to be best in class.

BLL has identified a substantial lithium-mica-granite Resource in the UK, but lithium has never been commercially extracted from mica. Mostly academic work has previously proposed chemical froth flotation of lithium mica and hot sulphuric acid leaching to extract the lithium, which would produce millions of tonnes of contaminated residues. BLL has developed novel technologies for extracting lithium-mica from granite, and for extracting the lithium at low temperatures and neutral pH that don't require toxic chemicals, potentially offering the lowest environmental footprint of any world lithium producer. We have the UK's only dedicated lithium laboratory, with advanced equipment for comminution, beneficiating, pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. Our Pilot Plant will refine and validate our novel technology, eliminate scale-up risk, and produce representative product for testing and validation by potential customers. In 2020 UK car sales fell 55% for diesel and 39% for petrol, whereas EV sales increased 188% to 29% of total sales. December's largest selling car was the imported Tesla Model 3\. Carmakers co-locate with battery makers. Just one Gigafactory is currently proposed in UK whereas €60 billion has been invested in electric vehicle manufacture in Europe, including 15 gigafactories under construction. The first EV designed in UK (Jaguar's I-Pace) is made in Austria with Polish batteries. To transform the whole UK car industry from internal combustion to EVs would require seven Gigafactories. _Benchmark_ predict world demand for lithium carbonate for battery materials to grow from 140,315t in 2020 to 1.74Mt by 2030, requiring significant new production. The UK Government's "_Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution_" effectively mandates the development of a local lithium-battery supply chain New measures include: • Moving forward the ban on internal combustion only vehicles to 2030; • £1 billion to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains, including developing "Gigafactories" to produce the batteries needed at scale; • £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure; and • £582 million to extend the Plug-in grants. Subject to successful pilot production, our proposed quarry and refinery would currently offer Europe's only domestic supply of lithium, potentially placing the UK at the forefront of the integrated manufacture of lithium chemicals, batteries and zero-emission vehicles, supporting the green-led recovery of the UK's automotive sector from the dramatic losses due to Covid-19, and the disruptive change from internal combustion to electric mobility. Our proposed quarry and refinery would alone meet one-third of Britain's requirements.

Our goal is to establish in UK the world's first quarry and refinery producing battery grade lithium chemicals from unconventional lithium-mica granites, using our sustainable, novel technology. BLL was the first company to drill granites for lithium in UK and discovered a substantial lithium-mica-granite deposit in Cornwall, and first to begin research and development. We have developed proprietary technology for separating mica from the granite and extracting lithium from that mica. This Project is designed to prove the technical and economic feasibility of commercialising our technology to the level required to de-risk the project and attract commercial funding. Over the past two years we have drilled out millions of tonnes of lithium mica granite, completed hundreds of metallurgical tests and thousands of assays demonstrating the potential of our extraction technology to produce a high-grade mica concentrate and to extract battery grade lithium from that mica. Lithium has never been produced commercially from granite, so there is no state-of-the-art process. Earlier, largely academic work proposed froth flotation and sulphuric acid leaching which would produce millions of tonnes of contaminated residues. BLL's novel beneficiation and refining process doesn't require toxic chemicals for beneficiation or leaching, potentially offering the lowest environmental footprint of any world lithium producer. European governments have mandated the switch from hydrocarbons to electric mobility. Lithium-ion batteries are essential for this transition, yet no battery grade lithium is produced in Europe. China dominates technology for production of lithium, cells and batteries. In 2018 Britain produced 1.5m cars, employing 823,000 people producing revenue of £82 billion (_Society of Motor Manufacturers_ 2019). With the sale of internal combustion vehicles prohibited in UK from 2035, this industry will be lost if not transitioned to Electric Vehicles (EVs). Illustratively, the first EV designed in UK (Jaguar's I-Pace) is made in Austria, with its Polish batteries accounting for 40% of its cost. Even the iconic British Mini Electric uses drive trains and batteries made in China. Carmakers co-locate with battery makers -- witness the world's largest EV maker Tesla building lithium-ion cells, batteries and cars under one roof. Without _Gigafactories_ (large lithium-ion battery plants) the UK could lose its car industry. Recent coronavirus shutdowns further highlight the risks of long supply chains. We offer potential UK battery and EV makers a competitive advantage over Europe with UK's only delineated lithium Resource and the potential to be the first high quality lithium chemical producer in Europe.