Galan achieves first lithium chloride production in Argentina

Galan Lithium has commenced lithium brine processing at its flagship Hombre Muerto West (HMW) project in Argentina, following the successful wet commissioning of the nanofiltration plant.

In a statement on Thursday, the Australian miner said that the Phase 1 plant, completed in March 2026, has now produced its first lithium chloride after being fed with pre-concentrated brine containing 0.5% lithium.

The processed lithium chloride was subsequently discharged into the final evaporation ponds, where water will be removed and the lithium content further concentrated. This evaporation period is expected to take approximately three months. After that, lithium chloride concentrate with 6% lithium content will be produced and sold under the company's offtake agreements.

Last year, Galan secured an offtake deal with US-based Authium for 45,000 tonnes of lithium chloride concentrate from its Phase 1 operations over a period of 6 to 12 years. Concurrently with the offtake agreement, Galan also received a funding package to complete construction of the plant.

Following the production of its first lithium chloride, Galan is now in an optimization phase. The company says this will initially result in a variable processing rate, but once completed, production will stabilize at 4,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

Construction of evaporation ponds for the expanded capacity of 5,200 tpa will begin shortly, with the capacity increase targeted for the first half of 2027, Galan added. The nanofiltration plant has been designed to support this expansion.

The company also holds construction permits for a Phase 2 operation (21,000 tpa) and has outlined a staged, low-risk production growth pathway across four phases, aiming for up to 60,000 tpa of LCE production.