Name of the Project
Hombre Muerto West (HMW) lithium project.

Location
South American lithium triangle, which spans the borders of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

Project Owner/s
ASX-listed Galan Lithium.

Project Description
The HMW project is separated into four production phases. 

The initial Phase 1 definitive feasibility study (DFS) focused on the production of 5 400 t/y of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). In September 2024, Galan MD JP Vargas de la Vega indicated that the company had adopted a lower capital intensity Phase 1 development to an initial 4 000 t/y LCE rate in light of market conditions.

The Phase 2 DFS targets 21 000 t/y lithium carbonate equivalent in 2026, followed by Phase 3 production of 40 000 t/y lithium carbonate equivalent by 2028 and the Phase 4 production target of 60 000 t/y lithium carbonate equivalent by 2030. 

Phase 4 will include lithium brine sourced from HMW, and Candelas – Galan’s other 100%-owned project, in Argentina.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Phase 1 delivers an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $460-million and an internal rate of return of 36%, with a payback of two years from the start of construction.

Capital Expenditure
The Phase 1 project is estimated at $104-million, in addition to the $278-million contemplated in the Phase 2 study, with the total Phase 1 and Phase 2 capital cost estimated at $382-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Galan Lithium achieved first processed lithium chloride at HMW in May 2026, marking the end of wet plant commissioning.

Latest Developments
Optimisation is under way.

Galan aims to produce commercial lithium chloride concentrate and start with product sales in the second half of the year.

So far, the company confirms excellent rejection of impurities from its nanofiltration plant, which is consistent with design specifications.

The company’s 10 000 t lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) brine inventory in evaporation ponds on site provides immediate feedstock for a sustained ramp-up in production.

Galan’s first focus is to stabilise production at HMW’s nameplate capacity of 4 000 t/y of LCE, before ramping up and scaling to 5 200 t/y of LCE.

Pond construction works for the expanded 5 200 t/y LCE Phase 1 will start shortly, with the capacity uplift targeted for the first half of 2027.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Ad-Infinitum (feasibility study work and lithium recovery method); SRK Consulting (mineral resources and reserve estimates); AIA Engineering, Consulting Services International and EIC Engineering (pond designs and water contour channels); M3 Engineering and Technology Corporation (reviewing and documenting the recovery method and the civil material takeoff quantities for ponds and water contour channels, developing the engineering design of the reagents and filtering plant); M3 (project layout, infrastructure designs, capital cost and operating-cost estimates and economic evaluation); and Wood Mackenzie and iLiMarkets (price estimates of the lithium carbonate and lithium chloride concentrate).

Contact Details for Project Information
Galan Lithium, tel +61 8 9322 6283 or email admin@galanlithium.com.au.