Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) is touted in the linked article below almost as if it is something "new and improved".  Any long term investor in Western Lithium, now Lithium Americas, has heard it all before and this article reads like a rehash from days gone by.  You old hands will remember that LAC dabbled in the area of DLE  several years ago in Argentina. The company boasting its DLE process at that time to LAC claimed they could take lithium brine and convert it into LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent) in less than 24 hours.  Brine to commercial product in less than a day!

I can't recall for sure the name of the company that LAC was working with at the time but that company was supposedly on the cusp of developing some new fangled DLE process. Further in my note I will hazard a guess as to who that company was.  Nothing ever came of it as it relates to LAC, but LAC wasn't the only  mining company looking to hook up with some "company in development" that was on the leading edge of new lithium processing technology.

You have to be careful when reading one of the articles from some journalist who doesn't know anything about lithium mining.  DLE is not new as a concept regarding lithium mining.  See below about when Livent, for example, entered the race for DLE technology.

But first, the MSN recent article by Stephen Proctor proclaiming how a Startup is developing a "game-changing method" regarding processing lithium from mine to product.  Ipso Facto Chango!  Here is the link to this earth shaking revelation:

Startup develops game-changing method to clean up lithium mining industry: 'We're unlocking a green future' (msn.com)

Two companies of note with a history in the DLE business and/or development are Livent and Sunresin examples:

"Livent and SunResin use their own aluminum sorbents. Three Chinese lithium producers have been using SunResin’s technology since 2017, and five more projects are underway, according to Goldman Sachs.

Livent, however, was the first, having deployed DLE commercially back in 1998."

Could Direct Lithium Extraction Be a Game-Changer? - IEEE Spectrum

"Summit is one of more than a dozen young companies piloting new DLE processes with the intent of commercial production as early as 2025. The world’s top lithium producers, Albemarle and SQM, plan to test their own DLE technologies this year. In China, a handful of commercial projects already use Chinese DLE innovator Sunresin’s technology."

"Carmakers, meanwhile, are lining up to secure DLE lithium supplies: GM is backing Austin, Texas–based EnergyX and Tesla’s lithium supplier Livent, which has a DLE facility in Argentina, while BMW buys lithium from Livent and has invested in California startup Lilac Solutions. Chile’s announcement in April that all new lithium projects from private partners will have to speed up the commercialization of DLE technologies."

I won't swear to it or at it, but I believe LAC years ago was investigating working with Energy X   Energy X, founded in 2018 is still around and their homepage describes their foray into the world of DLE:

EnergyX - Next Generation Lithium Extraction & Battery Technology

We don't want to leave out the pitch for DLE by Lilac Solutions:

"California startup Lilac Solutions is taking a different approach to DLE called ion exchange. The company uses tiny beads that look just like adsorbent beads but behave entirely differently, says CEO David Snydacker. The beads absorb lithium in exchange for a hydrogen ion. Then the company uses a dilute acid to flush out the lithium.

Ion exchange is a common process, used for everyday purposes such as in home water softeners. But developing an ion-exchange material for lithium has “been a Holy Grail,” says Snydacker. “For 20 years, large companies have been trying to make ion exchange work.” Only ceramic materials can absorb lithium with high selectivity, but the challenge is to make a durable ceramic that can survive brine and acid washes. Although previous ceramic ion-exchange materials have degraded after only 10 cycles, he says, Lilac’s material lasts for more than 2,000 cycles."

"The DOE is investing millions in new DLE technologies to extract lithium from geothermal brines in the United States, such as the Salton Sea in California, which the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates could provide over 24,000 metric tons of lithium a year. The DOE’s biggest purse of US $5 million has gone to EnergyX, which also has $50 million from General Motors. The company is using a mix of technologies that include adsorption and a patented nanotechnology membrane that can almost instantly separate lithium in a day or two.

Which technology for DLE will win is still unclear. There is as yet “no clear winner in terms of what customers want and what the technology can provide,” she says. But all the DLE separation technologies being piloted now are already used for other purposes, says Goldman Sachs analyst Hugo Nicolaci, and that should speed up commercialization. “Expect the first real wave of DLE projects from later in the decade.”

Science Direct has a more comprehensive article about lithium extraction that covers several different technologies including, but no limited to, DLE:

A comprehensive review of lithium extraction: From historical perspectives to emerging technologies, storage, and environmental considerations - ScienceDirect

I don't doubt the potential for DLE technology to turn the world of lithium processing on its head in the near future IF, big "If", both the environmental impact of the process and the cost of the process vs other long available processes already in commercial use are not limiting factors to a significant degree.  

Okiedo