Expansion into North Dakota’s Bakken Basin Reinforces Company’s Leadership in U.S. Critical Mineral Supply
CALGARY, Alberta–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$LIB.v #criticalminerals—LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc. (TSXV: LIB | OTCQB: VLTLF | FSE: I2D) (“LibertyStream” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce a successful field trial of its proprietary mobile Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) unit (the “Field Unit”) in North Dakota’s Bakken region (the “Field Trial”). This initiative, in collaboration with Wellspring Hydro (“Wellspring”), is supported by a combined US$2.5 million in funding facilitated through the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Clean Sustainable Energy Authority and Renewable Energy Program.
“Congratulations to LibertyStream and Wellspring on achieving a major milestone: successfully extracting lithium from produced water right here in North Dakota. This innovative approach transforms an oilfield by-product into a valuable resource for clean energy—using existing infrastructure, off-the-shelf equipment, and real-time field testing,” commented Rich Garman, Director of Development and Finance at the North Dakota Department of Commerce. “We’re proud to have supported this project through the Renewable Energy Council, the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority, and the North Dakota Development Fund. This is a strong example of how North Dakota’s pro-innovation and resource-smart mindset is helping lead the way in critical mineral production.”
North Dakota Field Trial
The purpose of the Field Trial was to compare the performance and efficacy of the Field Unit against previously validated pilot trials performed at LibertyStream’s Research and Development Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The results from the Field Trial confirmed the performance of the Field Unit against the performance at the Research and Development Centre by achieving an average 96% lithium extraction rate from Bakken‑region oil‑field brine. The field trial was conducted at Compass Energy System’s (“Compass”) Blue Marlin salt-water-disposal facility (“SWD”) in North Dakota.
“Our team designed the Field Unit to drive system performance while maintaining both flexibility and portability,” said Dr. John McEwen, Inventor and Chief Technology Officer at LibertyStream. “The North Dakota Field Trial sets the stage for future trials, further advancing our technology and readiness for commercial deployment.”
Key Highlights of the Field Trial include
- The Field Trial used LibertyStream’s proprietary DLE Technology and Process (the “Technology”) providing further validation of the robustness of the Technology to process oil-field brine from multiple oil fields across America with consistent results;
- Lithium‑recovery results matched those from the Calgary R&D facility, with the Field Unit averaging a 96% lithium extraction rate on brine sourced from Compass Blue Marlin SWD;
- The average lithium content of the processed brine at the site was 75 mg/L;
- Average volume per DLE cycle was 300 gallons over the Field Trial period; and
- More than 1,300 DLE cycles have now been completed across six months of U.S. field operations, underscoring scalability.
Strategic Significance: North American Lithium Leadership
LibertyStream has conducted field operations in North America’s two most prolific onshore oil-producing basins—the Permian in Texas and New Mexico, and the Bakken in North Dakota. Together, these basins represent over 60% of total U.S. onshore oil output, providing significant opportunities for lithium extraction from extensive lithium-rich produced water volumes.
The Permian Basin generates approximately 19 million barrels per day of produced water at lithium concentrations averaging around 30 ppm, translating to a conservative 170,000 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) of potential LCE.
The Williston Basin Bakken production ranges from 1.6 million to 2 million barrels of produced water per day, suggesting potential production of ~50 000 tpa LCE.
CEO Commentary:
“The North Dakota Field Trial provides further supporting evidence of the robustness of the Technology we have developed at LibertyStream. This milestone builds on six months of intensive operations in Texas, during which the company completed over 1,300 DLE runs, demonstrating robust and scalable technology readiness. These trials are instrumental to our strategy and showcase the continued progress toward transforming lithium extraction in a responsible, capital-light and high-efficiency manner as we transition to commercial operations in America.”
— Alex Wylie, President & CEO of LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners
Qualified Person
Scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Doug Ashton, P.Eng, and Meghan Klein, P.Eng of Sproule Associates Limited, each of whom are qualified persons within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). Mr. Ashton and Ms. Klein consent to the inclusion of the data in the form and context in which it appears.
About LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners
LibertyStream is a lithium development and technology company aiming to be one of North America’s first commercial producers of lithium carbonates from oilfield brine. Our strategy is to generate value for shareholders by leveraging management’s hydrocarbon experience to deploy our proprietary DLE technology directly into existing oil and gas infrastructure, thereby reducing capital costs, lowering risks and supporting the world’s clean energy transition. With four differentiating pillars, and a proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) technology and process, LibertyStream’s innovative approach to development is focused on generating the highest lithium recoveries with lowest costs, positioning us for future commercialization. We are committed to operating efficiently and with transparency across all areas of the business staying sharply focused on creating long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Investors and/or other interested parties may sign up for updates about the Company’s continued progress on its website: https://LibertyStream.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements” and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “target”, “plan”, “forecast”, “may”, “will”, “would”, “could”, “schedule” and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information. Statements, other than statements of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking information and include, without limitation, information with respect to the terms of the operational milestone, Volume Scale-up. Extraction Time Improvements and Continuous Processing vs Batch Processing, the deployment of the Field Unit in the Permian Basin, the production of battery grade lithium by the Field Unit, and the commercial production of lithium from oilfield brine. With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this press release, the Company has made numerous assumptions. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies and may prove to be incorrect. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein including those known risk factors outlined in the Company’s annual information form for the year ended June 30, 2024 and (final) short form base shelf prospectus dated July 20, 2023. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Contacts
For Investor Relations inquiries or further information, please contact:
Alex Wylie, President & CEO
T: +1.972.626.1645
E: [email protected]
Or
Bill McClain, Investor Relations
T: +1.604.773.9423
E: [email protected]
