American Battery Know-how Firm Publishes Milestone Pre-Feasibility Research Accelerating Commercialization of its Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge, One of many Largest Lithium Assets in the USA

Assist CleanTechnica’s work by a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

Challenge highlighted by 21.8% IRR and $2.57 Billion NPV@8%, Upgraded Lithium Useful resource and Institution of Lithium Reserves, Reinforcing Commercialization Pathway of Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge.

Reno, Nevada — American Battery Know-how Firm (NASDAQ: ABAT), an built-in vital battery supplies firm commercializing each its major battery mineral manufacturing and lithium-ion battery recycling services, has printed the S-Okay 1300 Technical Report and Pre-Feasibility Research (PFS) for its Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge (TFLP) close to Tonopah, Nevada. The research confirms the venture’s sturdy financial potential and potential strategic significance as a cornerstone of the home vital mineral lithium provide chain.

“The venture metrics demonstrated on this PFS are additional validation that the first-principles physics primarily based, internally-developed design for this claystone to battery grade vital mineral lithium hydroxide processing prepare is extremely aggressive in each the U.S. and the worldwide markets,” acknowledged American Battery Know-how Firm CEO Ryan Melsert. “It confirms the immense potential of the Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge on this pivotal second when the U.S. is going through restrictions on the sourcing of vital minerals and excessive stress to ramp the manufacturing of those vital minerals from home sources. We’re excited to proceed on our accelerated pathway to bringing this venture to commercialization to contribute in direction of gaining U.S. independence in its vital mineral manufacturing provide chain.”

Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge PFS Highlights:

• Facility Manufacturing: 30,000 tonnes/yr lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM), with venture economics calculated for a 45-year life-of-mine using solely southern portion of property
• Financially Aggressive: After-tax NPV@8% of $2.57 billion, IRR 21.8%, and seven.5 12 months payback from preliminary funding
• Extremely Aggressive Manufacturing Value: Discount to $4,307/tonne LHM manufacturing value, 9.2% discount from April 2024 Preliminary Evaluation
• Elevated Grade: Grade getting into refinery elevated to roughly 2,100 ppm Li from roughly 800 ppm Li by beneficiation methods to take away low-lithium bearing elements from bulk claystone
• Lowered Vitality Value: Built-in behind-the-meter onsite energy technology with battery vitality storage system (BESS) dietary supplements grid electrical energy to be able to synergistically optimize facility vitality administration, leads to considerably decrease efficient value of electrical energy
• Confirmed Scale-Up: Multi-tonne per day built-in pilot facility constructed and commissioned in 2024 to additional optimize operational parameters, scale back vitality consumption, and enhance restoration and native recycling of chemical brokers
• Vital Enhance in Useful resource+ and Reserve Classifications:
  • Sizeable 53% enhance in Measured and Indicated Assets, and complete enhance in lithium sources of 11% in comparison with April 2024 Preliminary Evaluation
  • Institution of two.73 million tonnes of LHM confirmed and possible reserves, underneath relevant Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) guidelines, which is the a part of a mineral useful resource that has been confirmed as economically and legally mineable by a complete and dependable report
• Chosen for Streamlined Allowing by Trump Administration: In June 2025, the ABTC TFLP was chosen by the FAST-41 Allowing Council and the Nationwide Vitality Dominance Council (NEDC) as a Transparency Precedence Challenge in accordance with President Trump’s March 20^th Government Order “Speedy Measures to Enhance American Mineral Manufacturing” to be able to “establish precedence initiatives that may be instantly accredited or for which allows might be instantly issued, and take all essential or acceptable actions inside the company’s authority to expedite and subject the related permits or approvals”
• Vital Completion of Allowing Efforts: ABTC has accomplished and submitted all required NEPA Baseline Studies for the allowing of the TFLP, in addition to a complete Mine Plan of Operations (MPO), that are presently underneath assessment by the BLM
• Preliminary Approval for Low-Value Financing for Facility Buildout: In April 2025 ABTC acquired preliminary approval for low-cost debt financing of $900 million by a Letter of Curiosity from the US Export-Import Financial institution to help the buildout of the TFLP facility

ABTC TFLP Lithium Assets and Reserves (million tonnes LHM)

Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge Overview

The Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge (TFLP) is a lithium-bearing claystone deposit roughly 11 km (7 miles) west of Tonopah, Nevada.  ABTC owns 100% of the claims comprising the TFLP and has carried out a number of rounds of exploration since 2021.  ABTC has designed its personal internally-developed first-principles physics primarily based applied sciences for the extraction of lithium from a lot of these lithium bearing claystones.

Typical processing of claystones depends on robust acid leaching, primarily using giant quantities of mineral acids to dissolve the complete claystone construction, after which using sophisticated impurity elimination and conversion methods to isolate the dissolved lithium from the massive quantities of different dissolved species.  This leads to excessive working prices because of the giant use of chemical consumables, and in addition excessive footprints as a consequence of using giant areas for tailings administration.

ABTC has developed, and demonstrated at pilot-scale, a set of applied sciences that may liberate the lithium from these claystones with out use of huge quantities of acid and with out dissolving the claystone construction itself. This enables for decrease working prices and smaller facility footprints whereas nonetheless reaching excessive restoration efficiencies.  By way of these methods, ABTC can be in a position to straight manufacture a battery grade LHM product, versus lithium carbonate historically made at standard services.  LHM is mostly the required type of lithium when manufacturing excessive vitality density nickel-oxide primarily based cathode supplies prevalent within the western hemisphere.

This PFS represents a big step ahead from the corporate’s Preliminary Evaluation printed in April 2024, offering an up to date useful resource estimate, reserve estimate, detailed mining plan, up to date mineral processing and metallurgical evaluation, tailings and mine waste administration, replace on allowing concerns, and a resultant financial analysis.

Pre-Feasibility Research Highlights

Mineral Assets+ and Reserves

The Mineral Useful resource estimate has been up to date with a number of further drilling campaigns performed in 2024 and 2025, and this resulted within the updating of the geologic and mineralization domains. The mannequin was estimated with SGSim to successfully estimate grade and scale back the uncertainty of the Mineral Useful resource.

With addition of this elevated exploration information, the Measured and Indicated useful resource elevated by 53% from the Preliminary Evaluation in April 2024, whereas the full useful resource elevated by 11%.

Tonopah Flats Mineral Assets Estimate, Inclusive of Reserves

The ensuing Measured and Indicated Mineral Useful resource demonstrates a excessive degree of high quality and confidence, making it appropriate for conversion right into a Mineral Reserve—outlined as indicated and measured mineral sources that, within the opinion of a professional particular person, might be the idea of an economically viable venture underneath a particular mine plan. Notably, the Mineral Useful resource unique of the present Mineral Reserve inside the Measured and Indicated classes quantities to 2,333,767 ktonnes at 712 ppm Li, highlighting important upside potential for added reserve classification. This substantial useful resource quantity outdoors the present reserve underscores alternatives for future mine plan growth, probably extending the venture’s life and enhancing its total financial worth.

Tonopah Flats Mineral Reserves Estimate

Challenge Improvement and Commercialization Plan

The venture is deliberate as a traditional floor mine with a devoted on-site processing plant to straight produce battery grade LHM onsite. Building of the services shall be phased to optimize manufacturing and handle capital expenditure.

• Phased Improvement: Incremental ramp-up of manufacturing capability minimizes preliminary capital expenditure and operational dangers.
• Mining Operations: The mine will function 24/7, using standard floor mine methods to feed the refinery at a price of roughly 12.4 million tonnes per 12 months. Manufacturing of preliminary section will ramp up over the primary two years, concentrating on full capability by Yr 3.
• Processing & Refining: A industrial processing plant shall be constructed on-site to provide battery-grade LHM permitting vertical integration and value effectivity.
• Industrial On-site Processing Plant: The industrial processing plant shall be constructed in three phases, beginning with a 5,000 tonnes each year (tpa) capability and increasing to the complete 30,000 tpa.
• Infrastructure: The venture advantages from its strategic location close to the city of Tonopah, with shut entry to present infrastructure.

Subsequent Steps and Suggestions

The PFS confirms that the Tonopah Flats venture is technically and economically viable and will proceed to the subsequent stage of improvement. To advance the venture to commercialization, the corporate has a number of key steps deliberate. The speedy precedence is to proceed with a Definitive Feasibility Research, with an estimated value between $5.8 million and $6.8 million, to proceed the commercialization of this venture.

Key future actions will embody:

• Definitive Feasibility Research (DFS): Advancing the venture to a DFS to additional de-risk the venture and refine engineering, execution plans, and value estimates.
• Allowing and Environmental Evaluation: Persevering with with the allowing course of to safe all essential approvals for development and operation and ongoing engagement with the Bureau of Land Administration (BLM) and different cooperating businesses to finalize all required processes underneath the Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act (NEPA).
• Additional Analysis & Testing: Further metallurgical take a look at work, geotechnical drilling, and a passive seismic research to proceed to optimize efficiency of processing methods.
• Detailed Engineering: Persevering with detailed design for the mine, processing facility, and supporting infrastructure with inner staff and contracted EPC agency.
• Infrastructure and Neighborhood Engagement: Persevering with work with native utilities to make sure ample energy infrastructure and the event of neighborhood engagement plans to deal with native wants and establish areas for mutual profit to make sure that each the venture and the local people develop collectively, creating lasting financial and social worth for the area.
• Dedication to Environmental Stewardship: Devoted to decreasing environmental impression in comparison with standard mining and refining practices, the venture emphasizes accountable mining, land restoration, and defending native ecosystems.

The impartial Certified Individuals answerable for getting ready the scientific and technical info disclosed on this launch asserting the S-Okay 1300 Technical Report and Preliminary Feasibility Research are Daniel R. Palo (Barr Engineering Co.), Jeffrey Woods (Woods Course of Companies, LLC), and Jacob Anderson (Dahrouge Geologic Consulting Ltd.).

Learn the complete ABTC Prefeasibility Research right here: Tonopah Flats Lithium Challenge.

About American Battery Know-how Firm
American Battery Know-how Firm (ABTC), headquartered in Reno, Nevada, has pioneered first-of-kind applied sciences to unlock domestically manufactured and recycled battery metals critically wanted to assist meet the numerous demand from the electrical automobile, stationary storage, and client electronics industries. Dedicated to a round provide chain for battery metals, ABTC works to repeatedly innovate and grasp new battery metals applied sciences that energy a worldwide transition to electrification and the way forward for sustainable vitality.

Inferred Useful resource
Inferred Mineral Useful resource is that a part of a mineral useful resource for which amount and grade or high quality are estimated on the idea of restricted geological proof and sampling. The extent of geological uncertainty related to an Inferred Mineral Useful resource is simply too excessive to use related technical and financial elements prone to affect the prospects of financial extraction in a way helpful for analysis of financial viability. As a result of an Inferred Mineral Useful resource has the bottom degree of geological confidence of all mineral sources, which prevents the appliance of the modifying elements in a way helpful for analysis of financial viability, an Inferred Mineral Useful resource is probably not thought of when assessing the financial viability of a mining venture, and is probably not transformed to a mineral reserve.

Indicated Useful resource
Indicated Mineral Useful resource is that a part of a mineral useful resource for which amount and grade or high quality are estimated on the idea of sufficient geological proof and sampling. The extent of geological certainty related to an Indicated Mineral Useful resource is ample to permit a professional particular person to use modifying elements in ample element to help mine planning and analysis of the financial viability of the deposit. As a result of an Indicated Mineral Useful resource has a decrease degree of confidence than the extent of confidence of a Measured Mineral Useful resource, an Indicated Mineral Useful resource could solely be transformed to a Possible Mineral Reserve.