In March, Volt began work on the pilot project, utilising its proprietary direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to retrieve lithium from oil field brines.

Testing was subsequently ramped up, according to the company, with the latest results achieving lithium recoveries of 90% based on concentrations of only 34 milligrams per litre (mg/L).

As noted in the statement, additional work using concentrations of 120mg/L registered recoveries of  "up to 97%."

Financially, Volt has pegged the operating costs at C$4000 per tonne using an average annual production rate of 20,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

"Volt has achieved remarkable and ground-breaking results through the pilot project and achieved an impressive 97% recovery rate with 120 mg/L concentrations under simulated operating conditions,' said Alex Wylie, Volt's president and chief executive.  

The DLE process involves two stages; the first involves treating the brine and removing contaminants that can interfere with the DLE technology.

The second stage relies on Volt's IES-300 technology to extract the lithium, which is then concentrated into a lithium chloride solution.

"[The] IES-300 technology reduces the amount of reagent required to treat oilfield brine as it enters the extraction process," the statement read.

The battery metals company plans to refine the IES-300 technology while working to reduce operational costs.

"[The pilot project] results confirm that Volt's proprietary technology is a true game-changer,' said Wylie. "With this accomplishment, we are poised to lead the way in North America as the first commercial producer of lithium from oilfield brines, which we are targeting for the second half of next year."