Expansion into North Dakota's Bakken Basin Reinforces Company's Leadership in U.S. Critical Mineral Supply
CALGARY, Alberta--BUSINESS WIRE--
Volt Lithium Corp. (TSXV: VLT | OTCQB: VLTLF | FSE: I2D) ("Volt" or the "Company"), soon to become LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc., pending shareholder approval, announces the upcoming final assembly and deployment of its proprietary mobile Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") unit in North Dakota's Bakken region, with commissioning scheduled for the second half of June 2025. 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.
"Wellspring and the State of North Dakota are excited to commence field operations with Volt in North Dakota in the second half of June," commented Mark Watson, President and CEO of Wellspring. "Volt is the only DLE company that the State Of North Dakota has funded to date", added Mr. Watson. "Based upon the successful lithium extraction results at Volt's R&D Facility in Calgary, both groups have full confidence Volt's proprietary lithium extraction unit will be successful in the field."
The upcoming name change to LibertyStream Infrastructure PartnersInc., reflects the Company's ongoing strategy to partner with key oilfield infrastructure players in the US to extract lithium, a valuable critical mineral, from the significant streams of produced water associated with oil and gas production.
Key Highlights:
- Proprietary Technology and Process adapts to multiple brine chemistries, driving Volt's Expansion to the Bakken in North Dakota
- Strategically positioned in North America's two largest oil-producing basins (Permian and Bakken).
- Permian potential: up to 170,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) annually.
- Bakken potential: up to 50,000 tonnes of LCE annually, nearly 3x higher lithium concentration compared to the Permian.
- Building active inventory of lithium chloride and converting to high-purity lithium carbonate for potential off takers.
- Deployed, scaled and optimized North America's largest operational DLE system (10,000+ barrels/day) within six months of initial deployment.
Proprietary Technology and Process Driving Volt's Expansion to the Bakkenin North Dakota
Volt's proprietary operating system has been built to partner with existing salt-water disposal ("SWD") operators in oilfields across the US and the Company's proprietary extraction compound (the "Media") is tailored to extract lithium from oilfield brines. This partnership model reduces capital and operating costs compared to developing a traditional greenfield lithium extraction facility. By integrating our DLE units with existing infrastructure, Volt accelerates its path to production and enhances project economics in several key ways:
- Capital Savings: We eliminate the need for costly and time-intensive greenfield development, including drilling new wells, extensive land acquisition, and building new pipeline networks. Our units tie directly into the partner's SWD facilities; and
- Operating Savings: We tap into a continuous stream of lithium-rich brine that is already being brought to the surface as part of daily oilfield operations.
The combination of Volt's proprietary operating system and Media has facilitated the Company's significant growth from lab scale production in 2024 at its Research and Development Facility ("R&D Facility") in Calgary, Alberta to its field operating system in the Permian Basin capable of processing 10,000 barrels of brine per day in 2025.
With the Bakken field unit, Volt aims to demonstrate that its proprietary, modular DLE process can capture value across both high‑volume, lower‑grade brines and higher‑concentration resources-showcasing basin‑agnostic versatility and the potential for improved project economics in multiple North American basins.
Strategic Significance: North American Lithium Leadership
Volt Lithium now holds strategic footholds 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 alone 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 to2 million barrels of produced water per day. Internal lab tests on Bakken brine samples show lithium concentrations reaching 90 ppm-nearly three times Permian grades, suggesting potential production of ~50 000 tpa LCE.
Commercial Readiness and Market Engagement
Volt is building an inventory of lithium chloride from its Permian Basin operations and has initiated converting this inventory into lithium carbonate, achieving purity levels suitable for premium-specification offtake agreements. Samples are being distributed to potential offtake partners to facilitate commercial partnerships and validate product specifications.
Operational Milestones & Scalability
In September 2024, Volt deployed its first DLE field unit in the Permian Basin, subsequently scaling up to its Generation 5 unit by February 2025. This rapid scaling resulted in North America's largest operational DLE system, capable of processing over 10,000 barrels per day of produced water.
The upcoming Bakken mobile deployment represents further lateral expansion, validating the modular technology's adaptability across basins and showcasing its potential for rapid replication and scaling.
North Dakota Unit Field Deployment, High-Level Stakeholder & Government Engagement
Volt is in the final stages of assembling its mobile Field Unit for deployment and commissioning in North Dakota in the second half of June 2025. Volt's field trial will be processing brine from the Bakken formation. The Bakken represents the second largest producer of brine in the continental USA, processing up to 2 million barrels of brine per day at lithium concentrations up to 90 ppm. While conducting the field trial, Volt and Wellspring Hydro look forward to hosting representatives from the following key stakeholder groups:
- State of North Dakota Representatives and Leadership
- North Dakota State Senators
- North Dakota Department of Commerce Leaders
- North Dakota Trade and Financial Leaders
- Key Industry Stakeholders
These stakeholders, along with interested investors, will participate in site visits during both commissioning and operational phases, gaining firsthand insights into the technology's scalability and strategic impact.
CEO Commentary
"Volt's modular, rapidly deployable DLE technology is gaining strong interest from industry partners. Volt's deployment of a second unit into the Bakken demonstrates the technology is capable of adapting to multiple types of oilfields and varying grades of lithium concentrations, positioning the Company to meet growing market demand and expand across key American basins."
- Alex Wylie, President & CEO of Volt Lithium
About Volt Lithium
Volt 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, Volt'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://voltlithium.com/.
Contact Information
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.
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