The Research Centre is focused on technological advancements in lithium processing and will advance the battery materials industry in Arizona. The facility includes a 20,451-square-foot building for R&D, including a 3,982-square-foot research laboratory and a 16,469-square-foot processing facility for lithium chemicals. The facility will generate over 20 highly-skilled jobs and contribute to The Big Sandy Project, which is anticipated to create hundreds of jobs in Wikieup, Arizona.

The Lithium Research Centre is functioning as a technology incubator focused on the extraction of lithium from both the Prairie Project in Saskatchewan and the Big Sandy Project in Arizona. The Lithium Research Center is equipped to carry out all processing steps required to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate.

“We are very excited to be officially opening the Lithium Research Centre (LRC),” said Paul Lloyd, AZL Managing Director. “The facility has been operational for a period of time and has hosted government and industry leaders, who have all been very impressed with the personnel and operations at the LRC. We have been overwhelmed with the support of the Arizona government and our partner for the event, the ACA. We strongly believe the LRC is critical to the company in order to test and optimize our Lithium processing technologies and ultimately produce Lithium from both of our major projects, Prairie and Big Sandy, in the most economic and sustainable manner.”