After a solid start to the day, a number of ASX lithium shares have given back their gains and are trading broadly flat.
However, the same cannot be said for the Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) share price.
In afternoon trade, the lithium developer's shares have taken off and are up 8% to 89 cents.
Why is the Lake Resources share price taking off?
Investors have been scrambling to buy this lithium stock following the release of a positive announcement this afternoon.
According to the release, the company and its direct lithium extraction technology partner, Lilac Solutions, have achieved key milestones at the Kachi project in Argentina.
The release notes that Lilac has successfully operated the Demonstration Plant for 1,000 consecutive hours and produced 40,000 litres of lithium chloride eluate before 31 December.
The lithium chloride eluate produced by Lilac is now in the process of being shipped to Saltworks to be converted into lithium carbonate. After which, it will be independently tested for purity.
'Significant promise'
Lake Resources' CEO and managing director, David Dickson, said that the achievement of these milestones demonstrated the significant promise of the Kachi project. He said:
Lilac has proven to be an exceptional partner to work with in our joint pursuit of the efficient and cleaner delivery of high-quality lithium, which is in increasingly high demand by battery makers.
We are pleased with our accomplishments to date and are intently focused on the next stages of this project. Above all, we are proud of the work we and Lilac have achieved thus far to innovate the production of lithium in a way that is inclusive and respectful of the local communities in which we operate, and protective of the environment.
This sentiment was echoed by Lilac Solutions' CEO, David Snydacker. He commented:
Lilac's ion exchange technology is revolutionizing lithium extraction, and we are very excited to ship these first truckloads of lithium chloride produced on site at the Kachi project. Increasing the global supply of lithium is critical for our energy transformation, and we are proud of our progress in building an environmentally- and socially responsible lithium supply chain. We look forward to future achievements alongside Lake Resources.
