RTCash2, I think you may be on the right track.  The more I learn about Lilac, the more I want to learn.  They have published some about their results in South America at a lithium claim, the Kaichi Lithium Project, that makes Musk's 10,000 acre recently acquired claim look miniscule when considering pure size alone.  The Kaichi Project comes in at 133,000 acres.  Lilac is claiming considerable Phase 1 success there as evidenced in the following PR from way back in October of 2018:

http://www.lilacsolutions.com/news/lake-resources-lilac-solutions-press-release-oct2018

No doubt, Lilac has progressed a long ways in the last 2 years perfecting their extraction process, but those figures published 2 years ago are definitely attention grabbing.  Can't help but wonder if they didn't grab the attention of Jon Evans and/or Elon Musk.

Some of the Bullet Points:

High lithium recoveries of 80-90% delivered from initial brine samples at Kachi Brine Project using Lilac Solutions process.

The new process appears more environmentally sustainable than traditional methods, is easily scalable to increase production and has a smaller footprint.

The new process appears more environmentally sustainable than traditional methods, is easily scalable to increase production and has a smaller footprint.