Smackover Lithium Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Franklin Project, Its First Lithium Project in East Texas
Standard Lithium and Equinor's Smackover Lithium partnership reported a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Franklin Project in East Texas, showing an unlevered after-tax NPV of US$5.0 billion and a 24% IRR at an 8% discount rate. The PEA contemplates up to 70,000 tonnes per year of battery-quality lithium carbonate over a 20-year life, supported by $3.5 billion of initial capital (including 20% contingency) and average cash operating costs of $4,226 per tonne at an assumed lithium price of $22,400 per tonne.
Key figures
- Irr pre tax pct
- 25.7
- Pfs target year
- 2027
- Discount rate pct
- 8
- Irr after tax pct
- 24
- Npv pre tax usd m
- 5924
- Sli ownership pct
- 55
- Initial capex usd m
- 3496
- Npv after tax usd m
- 4992
- Bromine scenario tpa
- 50000
- Operating life years
- 20
- Capex contingency pct
- 20
- Project area hectares
- 44541
- Payback after tax years
- 3.1
- Inferred resource lce kt
- 2128
- All in cost usd per tonne
- 5054
- Avg annual production tpa
- 64600
- Indicated resource lce kt
- 1771
- Initial production timing
- early 2030s
- Annual production capacity tpa
- 70000
- Avg lithium concentration mg l
- 515
- Capital intensity usd per tonne
- 49945
- Cash operating cost usd per tonne
- 4226
- Total lce production over life kt
- 1290
- Lithium carbonate price assumption usd per tonne
- 22400
AI analysis
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