European Metals Holdings has backed a redesign of the Cinovec lithium project’s processing plant, with project company Geomet giving in principle approval to replace two gas fired rotary kilns with a single tunnel kiln. Testwork indicates comparable or improved lithium recovery at lower temperatures, with expected reductions in processing plant capital and operating costs and lower energy requirements.
The proposed kiln could be heated with either gas or electricity, potentially allowing Cinovec to operate entirely on green power supplied by project partner CEZ, although the final heating configuration has not been selected. The tunnel kiln operates at a controlled solids temperature of about 850 degrees Celsius, reducing energy consumption and the maintenance and vitrification risks associated with rotary kilns.
The project scale is the reason a flowsheet choice matters. Cinovec, in the Czech Republic, is held by Geomet, in which European Metals holds 49 percent and CEZ holds 51 percent through a subsidiary. The definitive feasibility study confirmed a mine life of more than 26 years with forecast production of about 37,500 tonnes a year of battery grade lithium carbonate, and the deposit carries a declared ore reserve of 54.4 million tonnes at 0.58 percent lithium oxide.
Two cautions belong with the headline. European Metals has not quantified the savings in this announcement, so the financial impact remains an engineering expectation rather than a revised cost forecast, and earlier testwork pointing to a potential capital saving of about 112 million dollars dates from July. Separately, a recent Geomet cash call funded in full by CEZ trimmed European Metals’ indirect interest, with an option to restore it that must be exercised by mid November. The kiln decision and the funding decision now run on the same clock.