Smackover Lithium, a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor, has released an inferred resource report on its Franklin project in east Texas that places the area’s potential at around 2.16 million metric tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent at a concentration of 668 mg/L. According to the venture partners, the resource lies below a total of 617 separate brine and brine-sourced mineral leases across western Titus, Franklin, and eastern Hopkins counties. The inferred resource is based on a confined brine aquifer deposit contained within the porosity of the Smackover Formation.
Standard Lithium has secured leases for 46,000 acres of brine rights within the roughly 80,000-acre project area since 2022. Report findings highlighted by a lithium brine concentration of 806 mg/L measured from the Pine Forest 1 well located on the western portion of the project, the highest reported North American concentration to date, according to the report. The well was one of three drilled in the project area in 2023.
Smackover Lithium added that the report also revealed potential of just over 15.4 million tonnes of potash (as potassium chloride) and 2.64 million tonnes of bromide, contained within 0.61 km3 of brine volume underlying the leased acreage.
The Smackover Formation in northeastern Texas is commonly subdivided into three intervals: the Upper, Middle, and Lower Smackover. The venture confirmed the brine resource is within the Upper and Middle Smackover, which is present across the entire Franklin project area. The Lower Smackover did not contribute to the current resource estimate.
The venture plans to drill additional appraisal wells and re-enter the three shut-in wells to gather additional information and further assess the characteristics of the Upper and Middle Smackover Formation aquifers and brine chemistry. The partners will also conduct direct lithium extraction testing of the project brine, leveraging knowledge from Standard Lithium’s demonstration plant in Arkansas.
The joint venture aims to reach production of more than 100,000 tonnes of lithium chemicals per year in Texas through multiple phases. The partners are eyeing a pair of additional projects in east Texas that could triple the size of its portfolio in the state to help reach the goal.
Standard Lithium operates the Smackover Lithium joint venture with 55% working interest. Equinor holds the remaining 45%.
For Further Reading:
Equinor Takes Ownership Stake of US Lithium Brine Projects
https://jpt.spe.org/equinor-takes-ownership-stake-of-us-lithium-brine-projects
Comments: Can Big Oil’s Role in Lithium Production Keep Going, and Going?
https://jpt.spe.org/comments-can-big-oils-role-in-lithium-production-keep-going-and-going
Department of Energy Finalizes $225 Million Grant for Arkansas Lithium Project
https://jpt.spe.org/department-of-energy-finalizes-225-million-grant-for-arkansas-lithium-project
